Friday, 9 November 2012

Write it down and link it up

HI! Some of you may not know that I personally, am a lover of handwriting/calligraphy. I'm terrible at it, but I try. So I decided to participate in this link up. Here is my attempt at it:

 
I know, I know, there isn't any colour in it or decoration stuff....but I was just trying to do the best that I could with what I had packed (because I'm in Florida and I didn't bring any coloured stuff). So I hope you guys decide to participate! I was a little late, and it ends in 2 days...so be sure to make it happen soon! Thanks for reading, and here are the things you must include in your entry:
 
your name and signature
your blog's name
your location
your favourite quote or song lyrics
 
 
Have fun! Here's the link to Joelles blog, where you'll find the link-up here.
 
xoxo Emma-lee

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Joanna Guest Post

Hi! This morning Joanna from I love... will be guest posting for me. I hope all of you enjoy!

This is a recipe that is not only super easy and fast to make, but the results are delicious. When I say easy, I mean you add this, that, and your done! When I say fast, I mean they only take 30 minutes at tops. And when I say they are delicious, they are delicious!

You probably don't know this, but my brother, Isaac, likes food (especially sweets)... a lot! He has been begging me to make twinkies for... lets just say a long time. I haven't tried jumping over that obstacle yet, but I thought for now, I would make him these cookies, which he also loves! I made them, and right when they were cool enough to eat, there Isaac was, gulping them down one by one... So, long story short, he was very happy with the cookies.

TIP: when you are cooking the mixture, make sure that it does not boil too long, or when the cookies are cool they will be dry and crumbly. You're looking for a shiny and moist cookie.

No Bake Cookies

recipe from a family friend

1 batch makes roughly 20 large cookies

2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup Cocoa
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
3 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Cook sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa over medium heat until it boils. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, oats, vanilla, and salt. Mix until combines. Spoon onto wax paper and let cool.

It is as easy as that! Enjoy them!

 

Hi! My name is Joanna and I blog at I Love... It is a place where I share my love for life, food, and photography. I'm a Christian teen living on a farm in Ohio with my parents and older siblings. I hope you stop by my blog!

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Thank you so much Joanna! Please go check out her blog, I'm sure you'll love it. (like I do)

xoxo,
Emma-lee (& Joanna)
 


Sunday, 4 November 2012

Anjali Guest Post

Right now I would like to welcome Anjali from L&P to English Tea.  I'm super duper excited that She is guest posting today, so Enjoy!




-the girl behind the blog-
 
Hey guys! My name is Anjali (pronounced Un-Ja-Lee, emphasis on the ‘un’. Confusing, I know. Sorry). I’m a New Zealander who has moved to England this year. I like to think I’m an artist, musician, crafter, DIY-er and photographer, though sometimes I have doubts. I have two blogs, one is  http://fromlandptoenglishtea.blogspot.ca/ 
 which is supposed to be about moving from New Zealand to England and life in a different hemisphere, but really it’s just my every day ramblings, DIYs, lists of everything and perhaps a post or two about living in England. The other blog is for my photography, which is why I’m here today. Anyway, here it goes.

                                                                         taken with fujifilm


Where to start!? I’ve always loved taking photos. I remember getting my first camera for my birthday when I was about 10. It was a film camera, and was the size of shoe. I kid you not. Since then, I’ve upgraded twice. My second camera was a FujiFlim FinePix J12 camera, and it was (and still is) bright pink. My parents bought me this one too, as a "you’ve-finished-high-school" present. Getting this camera sort of started an avalanche of photos. I finally had a digital camera that I could take photos with and the put them on my computer. I started taking more artsy pictures, as opposed to pictures of just my friends and whatever event was going on at the time. These photos just ended up on my computer though, not really doing anything.

It was only really last year, in 2011 that I really sort of took my photography to the next level. My friend is a wedding photographer and she asked me if I would like to be her assistant photographer for a couple of weddings that she was doing. I loved it! It was really great! In May of 2011 I finally decided to buy a SLR camera. I had been hesitant because I didn’t have much money; I was a University student and I had a small loan to pay off. One day I was looking at cameras, and just thought "right. Just do it". So I did. And now I have a SLR camera, a Canon 400D and I love it pieces.

Because of this epic new buy, I started a Facebook Page called
{ anjaliHYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/pages/-anjali-photography-/208836282481307" photography }, and try to update that every day. This year I started a blog, also called Anjali Photography, and though I haven’t updated that as much as I should, I do try to post now and then.

                                                            taken with Canon SLR

Wow. That was a longer intro than I was expecting! Sorry!!

What I was actually going to write about was how you don’t have to have a fantastic camera to take a fantastic photo. Recently I’ve been struggling with this. I really love my Canon 400D and it’s probably the best purchase I’ve ever made, and I couldn’t be without it. But I keep seeing better cameras out there, and bigger lenses and this and that and the other thing that I know could really improve the quality of my photos.




                                                                        taken with Canon SLR

That’s what I thought until a few weeks ago, when my camera lens broke. It’s somehow jammed itself into itself. It’s going to cost quite a bit of money to fix and/or to buy a new lens, and I don’t have any money. So! I’ve taken a step back, grabbed my faithful FujiFilm from storage and I’m using that at the moment.

                                                                       taken with fujifilm

Although the photo quality isn’t to the standard I’m used to, it’s really been nice to just point and click, without checking the ISO, or the Aperture or any of those fancy words that no one really knows the meaning of. Sometimes, I think it’s fantastic to have a great camera and all the fancy gear that goes along with it, but other times it’s simply nice to breathe and to just take a photo. It turns out that I can be without my Canon 400D, and although it’s hard at the moment, I think it’s good for me to step back and take a simpler view on everything.

                                                                 taken with fujifilm

So, I think, what I’m trying to say to any budding photographers out there (or anyone who likes taking photos), is that remember that it’s not about what camera you use, or what equipment you have, it’s about you and your passion. And that’s really all that matters. It’s the person behind the camera, not the camera itself that makes a photo great.

                                                                       taken with canon SLR


Thank you so so so much Anjali! If you follow my blog you should definetely follow hers! Stay tuned for another guest post from Her, later this month.

God Bless,
Emma-lee (and Anjali)


Saturday, 3 November 2012

under construction! Please excuse the mess.

We've arrived!

Yes, after 32 hours on the road.....we made it! The girls are already in the pool, and there is unlimited high-speed Internet! So of course, pinterest is a must. I feel like we just skipped the winter and spring months and went straight back to Summer again. Oh, and in case you didn't read my last post...We are on Marco Island, Florida. It's like a resort! Here are a few pictures of my siblings in the pool (having a blast). Enjoy!

 

                          (Wesley was practising his swimming in the car on the way here)

So prepare for a lot more pictures! And I'll leave you with that.

Emma-lee

Thursday, 1 November 2012

My Entry


This is my entry for Isabelle Renee's Photo competition here. I was kind of going for a vintage/old type of look. So Wish me luck!

Emma-lee

Happy November!

Wow! It's the first day of November already? It seems like October just flew by so fast. Weird how that happens. But, without further ado, we are going on Vacation! Sorry, no room in the suitcases....My family and I, are going to be on Marco Island, FL all November. Isn't that wonderful!? We are so excited. Everything/everyone should be completely packed and ready to go by about 4:00 a.m. Friday morning. I know, it's grossly early...but I'm willing to make sacrifices. So, think of me when it's snowing and cold....because when you think of me, you'll probably be picturing something like this:

Pinned Image

or this:

Pinned Image

and that might just keep your mind off the terribly cold weather.

Hehe.......don't be too jealous.

xoxox Emma-lee

Saturday, 27 October 2012

Waterfall Braid


Button Earrings Tutorial

So I saw these super cute mint green buttons the other day at Fabricland. And I thought to myself "These are really awesome, but I don't know what I would use them for". Then I looked up at the price tag, and as if it were meant to be, there was a big 50% off sign! Hallelujah! So I got them. I guess it was kind of one of those things that you want, but you don't know why. Anywho! I of course, put them to good use, and made these cool retro looking earrings. They were very very easy to make. I could easily make a hundred more. Fabricland here I come!
 
xoxo Emma-lee

To draw or not to draw?

 Some of you may have never ever tried to draw anything. Or maybe you've attempted it a few times, but failed. Well, don't give up yet. There are lots of reasons why you should draw! It's relaxing and stress relieving. Whenever I'm mad or upset I pull out my sketchbook and just draw. Even if I'm doodling, I find that it helps me calm down, and feel better. Drawing doesn't have to be realistic either. A drawing can be a doodle, a scribble, a sketch, and pretty much anything you want. You can use pencils, pens, paints, etc. And believe it or not, it helps us become more creative. I prefer drawing realistically, because I have yet to find the abstract artist within me. But, often times I'll just take my notebook and draw out random designs, logos, words, and basically whatever comes to mind. And It's quite fun. Even if you throw out your finished product or you aren't happy with it. You still learned something for next time. Maybe you learnt that you shouldn't make the lines so dark, or you shouldn't try to draw clouds in the shape of molecules. Whatever you draw you learn something from. That's how we discover new techniques, and new forms of art. So don't stop drawing just because your frustrated that it isn't turning out the way you imagined it. When I start sketching a picture, I always imagine it to be this amazing picture I saw on Pinterest or something, but it almost never ends up the way I imagined it. That doesn't mean it's not good, in fact, it means I've got my own unique style that likes to show itself through my drawings. And I'm sure you've heard it before - Everyone is one of a kind. Because, if everyone was the same, you would never have your very on style of creating. But don't get me wrong, if your 20 and you draw like a 7 yr. old, you should definitely keep progressing. We never stop learning, our brains are like sponges that absorb information as long as there is a constant flow of it. So learn from your mistakes, progress, and don't ever give up.

Another thought that might come to mind when considering art, is "it's too expensive! I don't want to spend a whole ton of money on something I might never actually enjoy".  Well the truth is, you probably have everything it takes to make art, right inside your house. A pencil, a paper, maybe even an eraser, that's all it takes! You don't need that fancy pencil kit from Michael's with all the different 2Bs and 8Bs. A regular old HB mechanical pencil works wonderfully.

I drew this using that pink mechanical pencil you see above. That's it! but, of course I'm not quite finished yet.

So you see, it's really just a matter of finding the time, and the tools. But, I'm sure that eventually once you start to like what your making, and enjoy what you're doing, you'll want to graduate to the better quality drawing tools. (a post on the tools I use, coming soon!) And don't limit your thinking to just drawing with pencils. Trust me, it's harder to get into other mediums once you've only focused on one for your entire life. But, we all prefer one medium over the other, I'm sure. Just remember to exercise yourself by using different stuff once in a while.

So there you go, I hope this inspired you to create one of a kind art. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

<3 Emma-lee