Food Fun Family

No-Sew Boot Cuffs – An Easy Homemade Gift idea

Jody — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:29:19 +0000

I love the popular trend of cute boot cuffs peeking out of cool weather boots. You can go simple with a color that matches everything or get a little wild with colors and patterns that stand out. I went kind of middle of the road here with these – just a fun pop of color to brighten up your winter outfits.

Note: Amazon affiliate links to supplies used within this post.

These homemade boot cuffs are so inexpensive and easy to make that you will want to make more than one pair to keep on hand – and several to give for homemade gifts. You can pick up all kinds of fun patterns to make your socks from, I actually made these from a pair of my old socks I had on hand. There are also lots of textures that work well for these – fur lined socks, knitted, or fuzzy – there’s a style for every personality on your gift list. Not only do they look adorable but using the thicker knit socks keeps legs warm through the winter months. These work for adults or children just as well.

How to Make Your Own No-Sew Boot Cuffs

Supplies Needed:

Fuzzy socks
Buttons
Fabric glue (or needle and thread)
Scissors

Directions:

Cut off the toe of socks, leaving about 6 inches of length.
Run a bead of fabric glue along the cut edge of sock, allow to dry fully. This will keep your socks from unraveling on the rough edge.
Use fabric glue to attach several buttons in coordinating colors to the side of socks or run a needle and thread through a few times to secure well.
I used the heel of my socks for the knees, and I love the look of them.
Slip them on over pants and position them where you want them then slide boots on.

If you don’t want the heels of your socks to be part of the boot cuffs, just find longer socks and cut them above the heel.

Since no sewing is required, this is a fun homemade holiday gift that even the kids can make. Who on your gift list would love some boot cuffs?

How To Take Your Photography To The Next Level

Lolli — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 13:45:12 +0000

I love photography. Over the years, I’ve had tons of people ask me for photography tips…so I’ve put together a few of the tutorials that I’ve posted over the years in one place. My hope is that I can continue adding to these resources!

You can take your photography to the next level, regardless of your camera or experience!

Back when my oldest son was a baby, I had one of those light-bulb moments. I realized that I could capture better pictures of my young kids than the fancy (or not so fancy) photo studios at the mall. I was a stay-at-home mom with 3 very young kids at the time….and yes, this was before the age of blogging (we’re talking about 2001-2002). I loved taking pictures but I didn’t know much (if anything at all) about photography.

Luckily, I had access to dozens and dozens of books at the local library and I spent over a year researching and experimenting with settings and lighting and camera functions.

After a few years, my blog was born and I decided to share some of the tips and tricks I had learned about taking better pictures with my readers. I’ve gathered them all together for you below so that you can use this as a resource for whenever you need some photography tips.

Good Photography is Critical For A Good Blog

Now, I want to start off by saying that I am NOT the best photographer. But I do understand photography and I do know how to teach. Photography is critical in my life as a blogger. Good photos set the tone of your posts; they can often make the difference between someone staying to read the entire article versus bouncing right off your page. Good photos get pinned more often, thus bringing you more traffic.

And I promise you – you DO NOT have to be a professional photographer to take amazing pictures. Anyone can improve their photography skills….I started from scratch reading books from the library.

And now, as promised, here are the resources that I’ve put together over the years. Disclaimer: Some of these posts are old and I really need to update the photos and formatting, but the information is still good!

The Basics:

10 Tips to Improve your Photography
The Mode Dial: Get to Know Your Camera
What Are Megapixels?
Photography Tips for Rainy Days
Outdoor Photography Tips
How to Achieve Perfect Focus
How to capture a natural smile
Posing, Part 1
Posing, Part 2
Posing, Part 3

The Technical Stuff:

Shutter Speed
Aperture Explained
ISO
Exposure Triangle
Exposure Compensation
The Rule of Thirds

Extras:

Travel Photography: 10 Mobile Travel Photo Tips
The Key
Macro Photography
Bokeh
Noise
Keystoning
How to Avoid the Red-eye Effect
Best Lenses for Your DSLR

© 2015, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

How To Use Yummly: Tips and Tricks For Bloggers

Lolli — Fri, 08 May 2015 18:43:58 +0000

About a month ago, another blogger friend of mine recommended that I sign up for Yummly, a site to browse through, collect and share recipes from your own site and around the web. My initial thought was not another social site…but I figured it was worth a little bit of my time to at least look into it.

Imagine my shock when Yummly became one of the TOP 3 REFERRERS of traffic to my site within the first week.

I am now singing Yummly’s praises, and I have helped and encouraged several of my friends to sign up for and start using Yummly as well. Since several of my friends had questions about how to get started on Yummly and what to do once you get there, I decided that a post on how to use Yummly was in order.

Even if you’re not a blogger who posts recipes, I think you’re going to LOVE the site!

Getting Started on Yummly: Sign Up, Profile and Preferences

Signing up for Yummly is simple and quick. Just click the sign up button in the top right corner and choose your preferred method of signing in.

I was pretty excited when one of my recipes was showing up on the sign up page!

Once you’ve created a Yummly account, I’d recommend taking just a few minutes to fill out as many fields as possible in your profile (you can find your profile by clicking on your name in the top right corner of the page). You can link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages there so that they show up in your profile.

Next, fill out your taste preferences. Add any food allergies or special diets or ingredients that you don’t like as well as your favorite cuisines.

Filling out as much as possible in your profile will make the recipes that Yummly recommends to you even better. (The other thing that will help your recommendations be a better fit is “Yumming” more recipes, but we’re not quite there yet).

How to Add Recipes to Yummly

Once you’ve got your Yummly account created and your profile set up, you’ll want to start adding recipes. All recipes you “Yum” will be filed into your “All Yums” Collection, but to get the most out of Yummly, I recommend adding each recipe to relevant categories, or Collections, such as Cookies or Desserts. I also added a “Better in Bulk Recipes” category to my own page so that I can have a place to store all of my own recipes that I’ve yummed.

To add a recipe to a Collection, click on the Yum button on the recipe you’ve just added. A menu box will drop down with a few pre-selected categories. Feel free to create a few of your own Collections to customize your page even more.

When I first started out on Yummly, I kept my Collections very broad, but now that I’m using it more and more, I’ve started adding more specific collection titles. For instance, instead of just having one place for all Desserts, I’ve added “Chocolate,” “Cookies,” “Cakes and Cupcakes,” etc.

Note: Recipe titles and images are generated automatically from your post and cannot be changed at this point. I often have recipes that take a while to process. Some instantly pop up with the image and recipe description, and others take days. If you notice your recipes are showing up without an image or a link to your blog page (more on that below), there is not much you can do about it but wait. You haven’t done anything wrong. They are simply processing.

Add a Boorkmarklet or Social Share Button

There are 2 ways to make adding recipes to your collections (and encouraging readers to add your recipes to their collections!): social share buttons and the Yummly Bookmarklet. The bookmarklet is easy to install (following the directions here) and is handy when I’m visiting other blogs with recipes I’d like to add to my Yummly collections. Any time I find a recipe I like, I just click the Yum bookmarklet in my browser toolbar and it’s added automatically. I can either add it to a collection right then or go to my Recipe Box on Yummly later to add it to relevant collections. This is what it looks like when you’ve successfully added a recipe (like this one on NellieBellie.com) using the bookmarklet:

I also added a Yummly social share button to all of my posts 2 days after I opened my Yummly account, hoping to encourage readers who are already on Yummly to add my recipes to their collections.

If you use SumoMe, Shareaholic, Simple Share Buttons (that’s what I have at the top of my post), AddToAny, E-MAILiT, or GetSocial you can add the Yum button. If your social share buttons don’t support Yummly, then ASK them to add it! The more people using Yummly and the easier it is to share, the better! You can also add your own Yum button directly to each post if you prefer.

Another fun tool that I haven’t started using yet is the Yummly Rich Recipes Plugin for WordPress, which not only makes your recipes Yummly-friendly, but adds an easy way for readers to Yum your recipe right from the recipe itself.

How to Set Up and Customize Your Publisher Page

The great news is…if you or someone else has started yumming your recipes, then a publisher page has already been automatically created for your blog!

To find your publisher page, locate one of your recipes on Yummly that has already processed. You should see your blog name near the bottom left side of the recipe card if you’re viewing from your Recipe Box, or on the left side on top of the recipe image if you’re viewing the recipe page. Click on your blog name, and you’ll be taken to your publisher page.

The next step is to fill out this form so that Yummly can update the information on your publisher page, like a description and profile image.

Note: If any recipes that you have added are not showing up on this publisher page, it just means that the recipe has not been processed yet (is not yet live on Yummly).

Watch the Traffic Come!

Of course, there’s never any guarantee that a site is going to bring you traffic, but Yummly has been fantastic for my blog, surpassing Pinterest most days! I spend a few minutes each day adding new recipes that I find, either through the recipes that Yummly recommends to me or through Facebook groups of bloggers that I admire, etc. One of my recipes is currently on Yummly’s homepage as one of the most popular on the site (I got lucky!) but even without that popular post, I’m still bringing in several hundred new visitors a day from Yummly.

How it works: When you click on a recipe on Yummly, you’ll be brought to a page that looks like this:

Users can see the ingredients and basic nutrition facts about a recipe on Yummly, but they have to click the button near the bottom to “Read Full Directions on (Blog Name)” to get the instructions.

Why I like Yummly so much:

Traffic aside, the 2 things I love most about Yummly are:

It’s simplicity of design and functionality: It’s easy to browse through recipes or search for recipes with specific ingredients. I’m not distracted with a bunch of other things. Yummly has delicious recipes. Period.

Yummly has great recommendations for me: Because I’m using Yummly regularly, the recommendations are getting better and better. Unlike other social networks that are flooded with information that I might not want or need to see, Yummly feels like it’s customized just for me. I love that.

Another thing that I am just starting to try out is sharing Yummly recipes directly from the site, since they have several sharing options right there. I’m curious to see if I get more yums that way!

Are you on Yummly yet? If not, I highly recommend that you come join me there!

Note: The spoon image used above is from stock image site Graphic Stock.

© 2015, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

Summer Memory Picture Frame Craft for Kids

Lolli — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:31:01 +0000

I’m not the craftiest person out there, but I do love to get creative, especially during the summer when I need to find more ways to keep the kids occupied out of the heat of the summer sun.

This summer, I participated in Skip to My Lou’s Summer Craft Camp for Kids for the 5th year in a row. It’s a challenge for me to come up with something kid-friendly and fun each year, but it’s a challenge I look forward to as we enter summer.

Since my family will be leaving on a very long cross-country road trip in a matter of days, I thought that now would be the perfect time to share this summer’s craft camp project. And since I’m all about the pictures, what better craft than a personalized picture frame?

Summer Memory Picture Frame Craft for Kids

This easy frame craft is appropriate for multiple ages – just gather a bunch of supplies and let everyone decorate as they desire. Kids may need some help applying Mod Podge evenly.

Supplies needed for summer memory picture frames:

Wooden frames ($1 at Michaels)

Stickers

Patterned paper

Buttons, ribbons, etc

Mod Podge

Paint brushes (or sponge brush – recommended)

Scissors

How to make a summer memory picture frame:

Step 1: Gather supplies (make sure to cover your work surface when using Mod Podge)

Step 2: If decorating your frame with patterned paper, trace the frame on the back side of the paper you want to use. Carefully cut it out.

Step 3: Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the frame and lay paper down. Press firmly but gently so that paper is flat and no air bubbles appear.

Step 4: Decorate frame with stickers, buttons, ribbons, etc. Buttons can be applied using Mod Podge. Apply an even layer of Mod Podge over the entire frame (front and sides) and let dry for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Apply an additional layer of Mod Podge over the entire frame and let dry.

That’s it! For just a couple of dollars, you can have a fun, homemade memory of all the fun you have this summer. After the summer is over, these frames would be perfect for personalized gifts for parents, teachers, grandparents, and friends. Just match the stickers and decorations to the occasion!

The second frame that I made ended up being my favorite – I found state license plate stickers and placed them all the way around the frame…and then all of the kids begged me to let them have it!

This craft was originally published at Skip to my Lou in June. Check out my previous craft camp projects: How to make a no-sew t-shirt bag, easy crochet headband, picture-to-puzzle craft, and easy paper kites.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Summer Memory Picture Frames Craft for Kids

Print

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

Wooden frames ($1 at Michaels)

Stickers

Patterned paper

Buttons, ribbons, etc

Mod Podge

Paint brushes (or sponge brush – recommended)

Scissors

Instructions

Gather supplies (make sure to cover your work surface when using Mod Podge)

If decorating your frame with patterned paper, trace the frame on the back side of the paper you want to use. Carefully cut it out.

Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the frame and lay paper down. Press firmly but gently so that paper is flat and no air bubbles appear.

Decorate frame with stickers, buttons, ribbons, etc. Buttons can be applied using Mod Podge. Apply an even layer of Mod Podge over the entire frame (front and sides) and let dry for 30 minutes.

Apply an additional layer of Mod Podge over the entire frame and let dry.

3.2.2708

© 2014 – 2015, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

DIY Photo Blocks {Easy Craft Tutorial}

Lolli — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:41:26 +0000

Photo Blocks: an easy DIY craft project that uses your favorite family pictures and turns them into beautiful decor for your house!

I love finding simple crafts that add a personal touch to my home. The problem is that I have a tendency towards complete unoriginality when it comes to crafting. Give me a pattern or a template, and I do just fine. Ask me to come up with an idea? Probably won’t happen.

Luckily, my friend, Lisa, has an abundance of amazing craft ideas…and she loves to share her talents. This week, she’s got a tutorial for adorable DIY photo blocks.

I love that Lisa created a craft tutorial that is so easy that even the most craft-challenged of us can create something personalized and unique. Make them to decorate the shelves in your family room or give them as a gift. You could even make holiday-specific photo blocks to decorate for your favorite celebrations.

Now the question is…what photos would you put on your photo blocks??

Gather these supplies and follow the step-by-step instructions below to make your own photo block craft:

Materials Needed for Your Photo Blocks

(affilate links so you can order supplies online that you might not have sitting around at home):

your own photos, printed

2×4 #2 pinewood, cut to six inches long

medium grit sandpaper

ruler

pencil

wax paper

black acrylic paint

mod podge

foam brushes

self adhesive laminating sheets (optional)

Click HERE for the printable instructions:

© 2014 – 2016, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

Top 20 Tips and How-To Posts from 2013

Lolli — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 16:10:58 +0000

As I’ve taken a much-needed break from blogging and work for the holidays, I’ve been looking back at the last year of posts I’ve written on Better in Bulk. This year, I published 432 posts on my blog, the busiest month being November with 50 posts (followed closely by December with 47 posts). It’s no wonder that I finished 2013 feeling wiped out!

In the past, I’ve put together a year-in-review post at the beginning of the new year highlighting my favorite or most popular post from each month. I started going that direction this morning after I got the kids back to school, but soon realized that I had too many posts to choose from. Instead, I decided to break my “Top” posts up into a few different categories (mostly because the top 20 recipes needed their own post for sure). Here are my top 20 Tips and How-To Posts from 2013. I can’t wait to write more of these kinds of posts for 2014!

Family and Home Life

How to Stay Motivated (or Get Back on Track) With New Years Resolutions

3 Tips for Creating the Perfect Movie Night at Home

4 Back-to-School Survival Tips

5 Frugal Tips to Revitalize Your Kitchen

How to Help Kids Reach Their Full Potential

How to Turn Everyday Moments into Family Memories

10 Winter Weather Cleaning Tips

How to Create the Perfect Holiday Atmosphere

7 Simple Ways to Encourage Kindness in Children

5 Black Friday Shopping Tips

Health and Wellness

10 Quick, Easy and Healthy Snack Ideas

6 Critical Steps to Better Sleep

7 Ways to Increase Your Energy Level Without Caffeine

5 Tips for Fitting ME Time Into Your Busy Schedule

Smart Summer Snacking Tips

Photography and Blogging

How to Enhance Photos Using Fonts: A PicMonkey Tutorial

How to Capture Unique 4th of July Fireworks Photos

10 Easy Food Photography Tips

Shoot Video Like A Pro – 5 Basic Mistakes You Can Fix Instantly

9 Winter Photography Tips For the Everyday Photographer

© 2014, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

10 Easy Food Photography Tips

Lolli — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 16:00:28 +0000

These 10 simple food photography tips work together to take any level of photographer, regardless of camera or experience, to the next level with their food photography! Try some or all of these tips when you’re taking pictures of your next recipe, but remember – The most important tip to keep in mind when choosing the “perfect” shot is that your food in focus. No amount of props or composition will make a blurry shot look better.

10 Basic Tips to Improve Your Food Photography

Remember – you can implement these tips with any camera, even a smart phone, regardless of experience. As always practice makes perfect! Play around until you start getting shots that you’re proud to show off!

1 – Shoot a LOT! – In this digital age, there’s no reason to hold back and EVERY reason to snap away! When you’re taking pictures of food, the focus and focal point make a huge difference in the aesthetic appeal of the picture and small changes (keep reading for ideas!) can make an ok picture into an unforgettable picture. Even professional photographers take a ton of photos and throw out the majority. Remember – you can always delete a dozen or two bad photos from your computer, but you can’t un-eat food after the fact.

2 – Use natural light whenever possible – Natural light (ie, light from the sun, through a window, etc) is the best light to use in almost ALL photos, from people to landscapes to food. Flash is relatively taboo in food photography as it makes food flat and very unappetizing. My rule is that if my house is so dark when my food is ready that I need my flash, then I’d better just save a portion and take pictures the next morning. Remember – it’s ok to set up a miniature photo shoot in another room (don’t limit yourself to the kitchen!). Find your available light and use it!

3 – Composing shots – Experiment with multiple angles – rotate the food around and rotate yourself around, too! See how your food looks from straight above, from different angles, each side, and from the level of the food. Think about what colors are in your food and how to “play” off those colors and make the dish look as appetizing as possible.

4 – What’s in the background? (Get rid of visual noise) – Don’t be so focused on the food you’re shooting that you forget about the visual “noise” going on in the background. Clear off counters and tables and be aware of reflections in dishes and glasses.

5 – Be comfortable and confident with some basic photo editing – You don’t have to own Photoshop to be able to edit your pictures like a pro. I recommend using a free program like PicMonkey to adjust a few key aspects of your pictures – especially white balance, exposure, and sharpness/clarity. One of the things I notice frequently about my food photos is that the coloring is “off” in the straight-out-of-camera photos. Colors – and the entire plate of food! – really come alive (and look more appetizing) when the white balance is properly set. Don’t be scared off by a term like “white balance” – just adjust your colors so that your food doesn’t look too green or blue or red. Try to match the colors on your screen as closely as possible to the colors in the original food. PicMonkey is also great for adding a recipe title to your photo (hint – this makes your pictures extra Pinterest-friendly!)

6 – Take advantage of props…but don’t go overboard! Use simple solid-color napkins as an accent color under your plate, add a cute wooden spoon, or use a white foam core board for the backdrop. As I’ve gotten more into food photography, I’ve gradually collected quite a few simple props – solid-color plates (small salad plates work best!), place mats, wooden cutting boards, cake stands, and backdrops. This is something I’m still working on! Remember – “props” can be as simple as a glass of milk next to your plate of food or a rolling pin and scoop of flour in the background. Props can add character and interest to otherwise boring foods.

7 – Details, details, details – Before you shoot, check your plate and table for stray crumbs or drips of sauce, and clean off smudges and finger prints on glasses and dishes. Sometimes you need to get rid of messes…and sometimes you need to add some “messes” to create texture and interest. A drizzle of sauce, when added on purpose, can look great (it also makes the food seem more “real”). Don’t forget the value of garnishes, as well, such as parsley, cilantro, or a lemon wedge. I also love adding a few of the individual ingredients to the shot. Don’t forget that the cooking process itself can lead to some wonderful shots, too. Take pictures of the chopping, the stirring, and the mixing!

8 – Dig in! – I love to take several shots of the “whole” food and then dig in…and I’m not talking about eating it all before I’m finished taking my pictures (my kids all know better than to eat anything until I’ve given them the go-ahead!). Slice a big piece of cake and show off the texture, or cut into the roast. Remember that sometimes the inside of your food shows your recipes off better than the outside.

9 – Work quickly – When dealing with food that is hot or cold, be sure to work quickly. The faster you take your shots of food, the fresher it will look. You can get your shoot ready with props and plates all set out and then serve up the main feature as soon as it’s ready. No one wants to see melted ice cream, drippy frosting, or wilted lettuce.

10 – Zoom in – Don’t be afraid to get in close! Grab some zoomed-in pictures of your dishes. The entire plate doesn’t need to be visible in each shot, and it’s totally ok to cut food out of the frame. I love to cut a slice or grab a spoon or fork full of food and take a close-up of a “bite” of the food that I’m featuring. Readers will feel like you’re offering them a taste test!

What do YOU love to see in food photography? What shots stand out the most to you? If you have any additional tips, please share them below!

Note: This is the photography tips portion of a workshop I am presenting this weekend at the Digital Family Summit in Baltimore. I do not consider myself a fabulous food photographer, but I do know how to handle a camera AND I know how to cook delicious foods, so in that sense I am an expert, right?

Food photography has been one of the main things I’ve been working on this past year, and although my food shots are nowhere near the gorgeous shots I see on Pinterest, I am still thrilled to share a few of the things I’ve learned…and am still learning. All the photos included in this post are my own and may not be the ideal examples of each point, but should help give you some inspiration.

As a bonus, each of the pictures above links to the recipe. Enjoy!

Now who’s ready to take some pictures of food?!

© 2013, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

How to Enhance Photos Using Fonts: A PicMonkey Tutorial

Lolli — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 04:42:18 +0000

A few years ago a fellow photographer called me out for not including photos in my older recipe posts. Yep. Me. A professed lover of photography (I never claim to be great at it!) would write posts – recipe posts, even – and not include pictures.

Back in the early days of blogging – the days before Pinterest and Instagram and before everyone used Facebook and Twitter for blog sharing and promotion – images within blog posts were simply not as important. Or at least that’s what I thought. I put up pictures to show off my cute kids and the adventures we’d been on. I certainly didn’t consider how an image could enhance my blog posts, improve my SEO, and drive mega traffic to my blog.

I am now convinced that the quality of the images that I put up in my blog posts is perhaps the number one determinant of how well the post does. A strong image can catch the attention of a Facebook fan or a Google+ reader or a Twitter follower or (especially) a Pinterest enthusiast…and lead to more clicks and more shares of your content.

BUT. Not every blogger is a strong photographer. And, even as a photographer, not every picture that I take is top quality. I realized, particularly with the growing popularity of Pinterest, that a good picture wasn’t always enough to carry a post.

Side note: Of course, I realize that blog post content is a huge factor in blog success, but in this case I’m just concentrating on that first impression and what motivates readers to both click over to read and then stay to finish. Good content will ensure that people keep reading and keep coming back for more.

As Pinterest grew, I noticed a trend growing in popularity as well – the trend to add text to a blog post picture. Particularly with my tutorials, tip posts and recipes, I found that adding the right text and using the right fonts in a picture not only enhanced my photos AND posts, but it increased my traffic significantly. This post about 7 Simple Ways to Encourage Kindness in Kids went viral on Pinterest, and I attribute it to the right combination of photo and font:

I started going back through my old posts that I felt were Pinterest-worthy and have slowly added pin-friendly photos like the one I added below which ended up reviving a 4 1/2 year old post on tips to improve your photography. This one took off on Pinterest as well.

How to enhance photos using PicMonkey fonts

Despite the fact that I own and know how to use Photoshop, I turn to PicMonkey DAILY to add text to my blog post pictures. I used PicMonkey’s free service for months (no strings attached, but limited access to fonts and other design elements) but recently upgraded my account to PicMonkey Royale (on my own dime) because I proved to myself that I would use it everyday. It was worth it for me.

It’s easy to add fonts to your pictures using PicMonkey. Simply click “Edit a Photo” to upload the photo you want to enhance, click on the “P” in the menu on the left side to select fonts, and then click “Add text.” Click within the text box to start typing. You can move the text box to a different part of your picture, change the size of the text box or the font, change fonts and colors, etc. Get creative!

But just plopping down a few words and mixing and matching fonts is not a guarantee of success. There is an element of design that must be followed. Here are a few tips that I try to follow:

Match the “mood” – try to match the theme or feeling of your photo and blog post with the style of font that you use. If your post is kid-related, like the post I wrote about Back to School Tips for Parents and Kids, then a child-like font is perfect to use (I especially love PicMonkey’s chalk font for “writing” text on chalkboards!). If your post is more sophisticated or serious, stick with a font that reflects that and stay away from the cutesy fonts.

Try ’em out! – I rarely use the first font that I try on a photo. I always change things around until I am satisfied with the way the font and the picture look together. One of the things I love most about PicMonkey is how easy it is to try things out. If I don’t like it, I just try something else. On my latest recipe post, I tried several fonts before I found the combination I liked the best.

Mix ’em up – I enjoy mixing up the fonts. Sometimes. Using different fonts can enhance your image by adding emphasis to a word or two, as in the picture of my two boys (looking so little here) in a post I wrote about turning everyday moments into family memories. I wanted to emphasize “everyday moments” and so I used a curvier font AND changed the color of the font as well.

Just beware: not all fonts go together well. Two cursive fonts tend to be too much to put together. Two thin fonts may not stand out enough. Make sure that the styles are complimentary but contrast enough to add that zing you’re hoping for. Since there’s no hard fast rule that says “use A and B together but not A and C” you just have to use your best design eye. Don’t trust your eye? Ask for a second opinion!

Know when to use fonts – Remember that not every post needs a text-enhanced photo. Don’t over-do the use of titles on your pictures, but use sparingly for the best impact. PicMonkey fonts are also fabulous for tutorial posts, like the Popsicle stick puzzle tutorial that I posted a few weeks ago. I was able to put directions directly on each step of the tutorial as well as a title on the posts’ main image.

Go forth and share – After you’ve enhanced your photos with catchy titles, (don’t forget to add alt and title tags to your pics…alas, that’s another tutorial) be sure to share them wherever you can. Pin the post to Pinterest, use Tweetpic to post to your twitter account with a link back to your post, add it to your Facebook page….etc (and always chose that photo with text added!).

How do you use fonts in your blog photos? What style (from other bloggers) has the most impact for you – what makes you want to click over?

© 2013 – 2015, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

How to Capture Unique 4th of July Fireworks Photos

Lolli — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 15:02:32 +0000

Have you ever wondered how to capture amazing, unique fireworks photos? You may have tried snapping a picture or two with your smart phone, or you’ve seen fellow fireworks-watchers trying to capture fireworks using the flash on their camera. I’m guessing that most of those pictures fell flat.

I came upon this method on accident, simply by experimenting with different techniques over the years. Now, Independence Day is one of my favorite photo-taking holidays because I can not only capture the essence of the fireworks display, but I feel like I’m creating art. I love it…and I hope you do too!

I know that the holiday is over and everyone is probably sick of seeing fireworks photos after being barraged last night on Instagram and Facebook, but I couldn’t help but post a few of my favorite shots from last night’s fireworks show:

The 4th of July (and specifically 4th of July Fireworks) really is one of my all-time favorite days of the year for taking pictures. I discovered quite by accident a technique for capturing fireworks shots that look more like Spirograph pictures. I call it painting with fireworks.

How to create unique & stunning fireworks photos

If you’d like to try this technique, it really is simple. You just need a camera that has a manual mode.

Here’s what I do: Set the camera to manual mode. Last night I set my shutter speed to one second (1″) and my aperture to 10. I keep my ISO at a low 250. {Click any of the links in this paragraph for tutorials I’ve written to explain the technical terms.}

And here’s the fun part. When fireworks go off, point your lens in the direction of the fireworks, click your shutter button and wave your camera around to make different designs to create spirograph-type designs OR hold your camera still to create images that show the motion of the fireworks.

Play around with different settings and get creative! You’ll get hooked on painting with fireworks.

© 2013 – 2016, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

Easy DIY Floral Centerpieces

Lolli — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:00:41 +0000

This post is being sponsored by Pledge via Glam Media. As always, opinions expressed within this post are my own.

On the way home from a girl’s night out with my Mother-in-law yesterday, the two of us started chatting about our DIY/ crafting/ decorating skills. While she is typically not a crafter at all, I DO enjoy crafty projects, but I have a terrible time visualizing what I want to create unless I’m looking at an example that someone craftier than I has put together.

My mother-in-law claims that she is not crafty at all (probably about as strongly as I feel about my home decorating skills…in other words, I’m severely lacking!).

The best way for me to be crafty is to have easy-to-follow directions. As long as someone else has come up with the idea first, I can almost always recreate something fairly decent.

The following super-easy DIY floral centerpieces tutorial by Victoria at A Subtle Revelry is perfect for me. I love that the project takes only 3 components and can be easily customized for your party colors.

How to make a quick and easy 3-piece summery centerpiece:

This centerpiece craft takes 10 minutes or less and uses the 3 simple components: a bowl, a foam craft ball and flowers. It’s fast enough that you could whip up a couple of them in no time at all.

See? Even I can create something like this!

I think I’ll leave the after-crafting clean up to my kids… (we tend to make big messes around our house, especially where paper and markers are concerned) so there’s ALWAYS something to wipe down and clean up.

Discover more multitasking, re-organizing and fun ideas on Pledge’s Facebook page.

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Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Pledge via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Pledge.

© 2013, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.