photography // ooh pretty shiny ...

San Diego skyline from ooh pretty shiny

{keep reading for info on a photography giveaway!}

I'm not just being cheeky with the title of this post -- that's the actual name of Laura Evans' lovely photography biz!

The lovely Laura was kind enough to answer some of my obnoxious questions in preparation for holiday shopping goodness, even though she has a new baby boy to reckon with!  "Right now everything works around my son," Laura says.  "It's definitely my son who inspires me; he's seven months old and my little blessing."

Which pretty much answered one of my first questions for Laura: what inspires her amazing images?  She went on to say that "it's the things we see every day that inspire me ... it could be the light, or a flower, or an emotion or something out of the corner of my eye, screaming at me to photograph it.  And I really do have a 'pretty shiny' complex!"

book storefront from ooh pretty shiny

Laura's workspace sounds a lot like mine right now, too: "My workspace right now is my couch.  I only have a laptop and 'focusing issues' so I put the TV on and work in front of it. It drives my husband nuts but until I get a desktop {dear Santa ...} and as much as I try to have 'office hours' it doesn't happen."  Here, here, Laura!

I don't know about y'all, but I also love to know about the work that goes into a final product, especially with images as stunning as Laura's.  "Obviously the picture-taking comes first. Then I upload everything into Lightroom, where I do my first edit. This process is the same for both personal and client-based work. In Lightroom I get rid of everything that I 'hate' and then will make a couple of minor alterations before exporting. I then open in Photoshop for my final edit when I will get rid of a few more and put the 'Laura touch' on my work. This is the fun part which often involves a whole lot of play time and late hours!"

from Laura's other shop, levansphotography

The best part about it all for Laura?  The feeling she gets when a customer contacts her about her images: "Different people are always looking for different things.  I love when someone comes to me with a custom request or to let me know that a certain image brought back a memory for them--makes me giggle a little and do a little dance!"

In celebration of the holiday season, Laura has graciously agreed to host a giveaway for an 8x8" or 8x10" photo print of the winner's choice!  How's that for merry?

♥ 

The rules for entering the giveaway are pretty standard:

1. Follow this blog. {join via Google Friend Connect}

2. Visit ooh pretty shiny and just TRY to narrow down your favorite image {go on, I dare ya to try!}

3. Leave a comment on this post about which image you'd select if you win the giveaway.

4. Please do one, some, or all of the following ::
(a) add ooh pretty shiny to your favorites on Etsy;
(b) "like" Laura Evans Photography on Facebook;
(c) follow Laura on Twitter @levansphoto.
(d) follow Laura on her blog.

Be sure to leave your contact information in your comment on this post so we know how to contact the winner!

Entries must be in by 11:59 p.m. PST on Thursday, November 24 {should be easy to remember -- it's Thanksgiving!}

Thanks so much, Laura! 

♥

You can also see ooh pretty shiny on papernstitch this month!

handmade // papernstitch

Have you heard of this fabulous website yet? Papernstitch :: it's a hand-curated monthly collection of the best artisans in the handmade community. The new exhibit debuted this morning, and I am captivated. The jewelry selection is downright dangerous for a girl with a tight pocketbook, such as myself -- exemplified by these earrings from Caposhi.

And I think we all know from my blog feature yesterday of the magnificent Teascha that I'm pretty obsessed with scarves at the moment.  This one from Fabricatedends is pretty rockin'. 

I also gotta give a shout-out to my lovely Los Angeles photographer friend myan soffia, whose lovely sixth & main is also featured on Papernstitch this month!  She's also got a sweet promo going on for Papernstitch customers, so you'd better pop on over and check it out to get your fix of fabulous Los Angeles photography {alas, her collection is better than mine!}.  ;)

And oh. My. God.  I'm obsessed with this photo and might just have to make a purchase.  Photographer mkendall has taken my breath away!  Her work takes the Photoshop effects I covet to the edge of extreme with results that are simply stunning.  This "Lights of Paris" photo is the result of three layered images.  LOVE.

And {you must've seen this coming} Anna Delores is part of the current exhibition, as well!  I'm offering 30% off to all Papernstitch customers, so be sure to stop by and peruse the gallery {and scoop up the coupon}.  Enjoy!

A few of my other familiar favorites are in the exhibit this month, too -- keep an eye out for september wren, belle hibou, and shannonblue.

handmade // the tea rex.

The holiday shopping season here at Anna Delores kicks off with Teascha from The Tea Rex on Etsy!  One of my personal favorites, The Tea Rex offers some gorgeous, unique, versatile, and oh-so-comfy scarves made from the softest jersey and cutest fabrics ever.  

super-versatile and WAY too cute.

Teascha's inspiration for her fabulous wares are pretty straightforward: "Sometimes I just see a fabric or a print and fall in love with it and that alone will inspire me," she says.  "I spend a lot of time pulling fabric and trying to match it to something. I really like pairing things that you wouldn't normally think go together. I like my accessories a little funky and unconventional. I always try to make my final outcome something I'd be proud and excited to wear."  Consequently, all her customers are excited to wear her accessories, too.

nothing says "Christmas" like red plaid.

I was able to snag Teascha's attention before she became too busy with the holiday season, and you should too!  Check out her shop ASAP to pick up the sweetest scarves on the Internet and you'll be able to cross quite a few people off your holiday shopping list.  Lucky for you, you'll also get to snag some discounts while you're at it; Teascha told me, "I will be posting a pretty sweet coupon for Black Friday [on Facebook; "like" her now!] ...but it will only be available for a few hours. I will be posting a coupon on my Etsy page for Cyber Monday, but it won't be as good a coupon as the one that will be on my FB page on Black Friday."  

So don't dilly-dally!  No sleeping in after turkey for you.

Teascha describes her "workspace [as] out of control. I have stacks of fabric everywhere. At one point I tried to organize by color and print but I am constantly pulling fabric off my shelves in order to match it to other fabrics and I'm horrible at putting it back where it belongs. You would probably be terrified if you saw my sewing room."

navy stripe + antique gold = winning!

Nope, I think I'd be pretty damn excited to witness the magic!

Finally, I asked Teascha for her thoughts on best bets for the holidays (since there are so many amazing choices in her shop, maybe this will help you in deciding where to start): "The most popular scarf has been the navy and white sailor stripe with antique gold. It's bold and trendy and looks awesome with everything. I have recently put out some new scarves, the 'versatile three-way scarf' and the 'leather lasso' scarf, which I think are so cute and fun!"

You'll get no arguments from me, Teascha!  If anyone's looking to get Christmas presents for yours truly, I like the peach pinstripe fabric for a little pastel warmth during this mild California winter.  ;)

Don't forget to visit The Tea Rex on Etsy (and add to your favorites for easy revisiting!).  More places to find Teascha:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tea-Rex/196924780323198

Many thanks to Teascha for humoring my questions and making such lovely contributions to the handmade community!

photography // gallery 32

I wanted to give a "shout out" to a fellow Etsy photographer whose work I think is super lovely (so much talent on Etsy!). Her name is Trina and her shop is called Gallery 32.

One of her Facebook posts crept into my feed this afternoon and I am positively smitten with a handful of photos she recently snapped; she's calling them "November Greys" and I LOVE that she kept that hint of color in the images and didn't just make them black and white.  They have a ton of personality that way.  They are for sale in her Etsy shop so you better check 'em out!

salted caramel & pumpkin pie.

So it's autumn, which means the BEST seasonal goodies are now available all over the place: Starbucks, for example, has the most amazing salted caramel hot chocolate (and this year they've spawned Frappuccino and hot mocha cousins).  

The lovely and amazing, albeit overpriced, Urth Caffe in downtown Los Angeles (also with locations in WeHo and Beverly Hills) has the very best pumpkin pie I've ever had, hands-down. I don't know WHAT they put in that crust, but it's marvelous.  There are no words to describe.  If you live in Los Angeles, you're really depriving yourself if you don't go to Urth RIGHT NOW and buy yourself a slice.  It also comes with its own cup full of whipped cream. 

 

We may not get the seasons here in Los Angeles, but at least we get to enjoy the treats.  :)

In other news, I'm playing with Anna Delores Photography and trying to make it both more holiday- and SEO-friendly.  This means I've retitled some of my Etsy shop sections phrases like "Pictures of Paris" and "Fine Art Los Angeles," which lacks considerably creativity, in my opinion.  The things we do to get noticed, eh?  What do y'all think?