The Art of the Photobomb

Have you ever wondered just how many people have photos of you? It is an interesting concept if you think about it. Think of all the family trips you have been on, think of the places your have visited, think of all the concerts and shows you have been to, think of the fairs, carnivals, so on and so forth, and then times that by the amount of camera usage at that event. There could be someone in China right now looking at their photos from Disneyland or New York, and you could be in it just because you were walking by as they clicked for a photograph. How crazy, right?

But then you could also be in any and every photo because you spend your days trying to be. Which brings us to the topic of today's post, The Art of the Photobomb. It really and truly is an art. And something that I have come to know and love over my years. With the holidays coming up there will be a lot of opportunities to jump in photos all over. Today I am teaching you the steps to being an expert photo-bomber.

1. Always be central. 

You need to be in the middle of whatever is going on. Make sure you are never on one end of the group. Because if you limit yourself to one side, you miss the opportunity to be in multiple photos in a row. 

2. Stand behind people. 

You might miss the conversation... but who cares!? You get to be in all their photos. And that is going to bring many more memories and a much better digital footprint. Years down the road what are you going to remember? Making conversation with a bunch of people you will probably not talk to again (unless you will... then that could be awkward) or having a million photos with you in them!?

3. Look for small windows of opportunity. 

Literally... small windows. Your whole body doesn't have to be in a photo for it to be a successful photobomb. One limb, one eye, or whatever else you can squeeze in. There are always keyholes to work through.

4. Never look guilty. 

Did you get caught trying to photobomb? Just smile and walk away. Or just duck down. More on the ducking down later. You just have to blend and pretend you are supposed to be there. It is as simple as that. If you make a guilty face the photographer will second guess that you are supposed to be there!

5. Work on your creepy face. 

Okay... doesn't have to be creepy... thumbs up or some weird face will also work. But I prefer creepy.

6. Open your ears. 

Most photographers count, "Okay... Ready? 1...2...3!" THREE IS YOUR LUCKY NUMBER! 

The countdown always means you are close enough to jump in.

7. Be prepared to jump.

 Literally. At the last second. Because sometimes you get caught on the first attempt. And then you have to squat down and jump at the last second. But also. Jumping connects to number 6, because you will probably have to jump there too.

8. Be prepared to stop. 

You might not be planning to photobomb... but then you are walking by and someone pulls out a camera. Stop. STOP! Always be prepared to stop for those moments. 

9. Blend in. 

Oh, hello family taking photo in front of the building. Hello, Sorority/Fraternity posing at event. 

Hello cheer squad jumping on the beach. Mimic them. Blend in. Be in the photo. Then walk away. 

10. Be mobile. 

This is the most important step. Be prepared to move around. Stand up, sit down, jump, squat, stand up, slide to the left, slide to the right, criss cross, criss cross, cha-cha real smooth. Okay. Maybe not all of that. But be prepared for anything and everything. If you can't move, you can't be in photos.

With all that being said. I wanted you all to see a little of my work.
So here is my photo bomb portfolio, based only on the photos I could find.. 

Beautify Your Blog || Deleting the Photo Shadow

A few weeks ago I helped host a blogger round table all about blog design. There seemed to be a lot of the same questions from bloggers - they all wanted a simple fix for similar problems. Rather than just share it with the few ladies at the round table, I wanted to share it with all of you. Because we all deserve a pretty blog, even if we don't have the funds to purchase one. So here we are with my new mini-series beautify your blog. Today's topic? Deleting the Shadow Box Around Your Photos.

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The default for most layouts puts a pesky little shadow border around every photo. Today I am going to give you a few simple steps to get rid of that irritating border.

1. In the left sidebar of your blogger dashboard click "Template".
2. Under the Live on Blog thumbnail click "Edit HTML".
3. Use Ctrl F to open finder and type in the following: .post-body img
4. That search will pull up the following code

.post-body img, .post-body .tr-caption-container, .Profile img, .Image img,
.BlogList .item-thumbnail img {
padding: $(image.border.small.size);
background: $(image.background.color);
border: 1px solid $(image.border.color);
-moz-box-shadow: 1px 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);
-webkit-box-shadow: 1px 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);
box-shadow: 1px 1px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .1);
} 

5. Replace the bolded lines with:

-moz-box-shadow: 0px0px0pxtransparent!important;
-webkit-box-shadow: 0px0px0pxtransparent!important;
box-shadow: 0px0px0pxtransparent!important;
}

6. Click "Preview Template".
7. If it looks good click "Save Template".

8. You're good to go! Have a happy day!

What tutorial would you like next?

Anything you want to learn to beautify your blog?

Pageant Beauty Secrets

In honor of Miss Idaho week I have been stalking up on all the pageant girl beauty secrets. I reached out to my former Miss Idaho sisters and we pooled out tips and tricks from our time competing in the Miss America Organization. And here are some of our best!

Removing makeup. Instead of eye makeup remover, use Vaseline The makeup comes off great and it makes your eyelashes feel soft and thick and grows more quickly.

Dirty hair styles better. Dry shampoo is your friend! But for blondes - you can use baby powder. It soaks up the oil and you can go for longer without washing your hair. It makes it easier to style, and if you run out of baby powder some girls will even use baking powder!

Get that glow. If you don't have a highlighter, use a soft pink shimmery or pearly white eyeshadow on cheeks for a shimmery glow.

Pinch for pink. Want a little natural flush? Pinch your cheeks a few times to replace any worn off blush. Or use lipstick as a blush replacement.

Clean up shadows. Eyeshadow can be messy. Lots of dust drops off the brush when moving it from pallet to face. Make sure you don't leave the eyeshadow dust sitting there, pick it up with a piece of scotch tape.

Prime. ALWAYS use a primer. Under foundation and eyeshadow. It helps keep make up in place longer. 

Define your face. Use a couple different colors of foundations to create shading on your face. Use a darker foundation on your nose and forehead, and right under the cheek bones and then also the sides of your jaw underneath a little bit. And use your regular foundation everywhere else.

Fake your skinny. Need to smooth out some lines or fit into that smaller dress? Don't crash diet or go without eating. Grab a shaper or pair of spanx.

Make your muscles pop. Need a little umph in your legs and arms before heading to a party? Do a few quick reps and your muscles will make a nice showing. 20 lunges on each side, 18 curls, 20 pushups (wall pushups count), and 10 squats. You are good to go!

Get rid of those flyaways in photos. Use clear mascara for flyaway hair. If your hair is dry get some clear mascara and brush it right on my hair to make the flyaways go down.

Volumize your hair without product. Blow dry your hair upside down and it'll give it more natural volume so that you don't have to use as much product. Using a round brush will also help with that and it's cheaper!

Stop smudges. for a quick, clean way to avoid mascara smudges, hold a plastic spoon under the upper and lower lashes to shield the rest of your eye makeup. It fits right under your eye.

Get more hair. Clip in extensions are a great to add volume and length. They also hold curl a lot better!

Always exfoliate. For a DIY exfoliation/moisturizing mask: homemade mixture includes 1/2 cup of oatmeal, tsp of olive oil and a tsp of honey! Rub in circular motions on face and wash with warm water!

Even exfoliate your lips. Put on lip balm and use an old toothbrush or mascara wand to gently scrub away dry skin. Then grab some scotch tape to pick up any pieces of dry skin remaining.

Keep eyebrows in check. Spritz an old toothbrush or a clean mascara wand with hairspray, then brush brows and style them as desired. Even the most hard to tame brows will fall in line with this trick.

Make your hair color last longer. Use cold water when rinsing your hair if it's colored, because the color will last longer.

Eat right, make your teeth white! Eating strawberries naturally whitens your teeth. 

Fake your tone. Need to make those muscles show up? You can contour your muscles too. Add a little bronzer to emphasize your muscle. Abs, legs, arms, clavicle.. you name it, you can contour it.

Don't over-lip. After applying lipstick always add some gloss. But don't over-gloss. Only place lipgloss on the middle third of your lips. It keeps lipstick from smearing and smudging throughout the night.

Pluck your eyebrows with light. Pluck eyebrows in your car - parked obviously - because you can receive more natural sunlight.

Get the red out. Dab of toothpaste to make the redness go down. Also adding lemon to water decreases acne.

Curl those eyelashes. If you have a metal eyelash curler use a blow dryer to heat it up. Then curl your eyelashes like you normally would but hold the curler in place until it cools down. It's just like using a curling iron on your hair.

Go bra-less. This one is too much info... but use duct tape. Hold in place, tape them up.

Become a bronzed beauty. Spray tans and tanning lotions work wonders. I prefer Sunlabs and use maskCara's tanning application process. Sally Hansen spray is great for a natural tan glow on legs - used with lotion helps it set better and not rub off.

But on top of all those trick and tips... genuine confidence and kindness are the real key to beauty! Now tell me... what are your beauty secrets? Pageant girl or not.. the world needs to know. 

Wear the Red, White, and Blue

I love dressing in red, white, and blue... I remember one time in high school I showed up to a powder puff practice with a red and white shirt and navy blue shorts and a girl tried to be all snide, "Celebrating America today Deidre?" (I went to high school with some mean girls...) And I smiled and said, "Yeah! I LOVE AMERICA!" I showed her... not really. But one thing I love about July 4th is wearing the red, white, and blue. It is one of the few days a year you can go ALL out with American pride and no one can say sassy things about it. Stars, stripes, flags. You name it. 

Fourth of July attire is easy to come by right now. Old navy has a ton of flag t shirts, most boutiques have a stripped something or another, and red pants can be found EVERYWHERE. I like to pair up an American-styled item with a neutral item. That way my American stands out. See all these looks on Polyvore. As for me... I like the make my fourth wear. Last year I made this sweatshirt. All you need is one white sweatshirt, red and blue spray paint, some sort or star cutout, and tape. Easy, yeah?

I got a lot of compliments on it. And the things I learned from last year? 

• ALWAYS Tape things you want to stay in place, spray paint has a lot of force with lightweight cutouts. 
• Two hands are better than one in taping straight lines.
• Make sure you have enough spray paint.
• Be patient.
• Have a place to hang the sweatshirt in between colors.
• Wait 24 hours to wash.

Sadly... last year's sweatshirt got ruined... during another lesson called, "Never was red pants with white things!" The sweatshirt is now purple, pink, red, and blue... Also, Adam has two pink shirts thanks to that fiasco. Awesome. So this year I decided to try again. My plan was to make an identical sweatshirt, but the one I purchased bunched weird at the bottom, so I switched up the pattern. I also forgot the patience lesson.... but here it is.

My photographer A is playing baseball in Montana and my photographer B is at Lake Powell enjoying a week of vacation.  That is why you get awesome selfie in the mirror photos. Even with my lack of patience, I am happy with how it turned out. But even with that being said, I will probably give it another go next year... but I will start looking for items to purchase earlier. The spray paint this year is a little more stiff this year, so I hope to buy red clothing spray paint - it was all sold out this year and last year. And next year I will hopefully be able to find a lighter weight sweatshirt that is made well. NO one had white sweatshirts in store this year.

You can see some other 4th of July fashions and ideas at Fashion Utah, Bridgette Nicole, and Breezy Days. Have you ever purchased some American-wear? What is your favorite American combo for fashion? What are you planning to wear for your 4th of July celebration?

Cute And Clever Ways To Wrap A Wedding Gift

If you are anything like me - your fridge is FULL of announcements. It is wedding season in Utah and today I have Marcela here to talk about fun ways to wrap things up for this wedding season. Take it away girl!

For many of us, giving a present can be as much a joy as it is to receiving one, and wedding presents are no exception. Although wedding registries make sure the couple doesn’t get a room full of white elephants, they can also make the process a little less personal. To make your gift truly memorable, it’s a great idea to put a little extra thought into how you present it. Here are a handful of ideas that are not only endearing, but also incredibly practical.

Unique paper
Of course, you can always find clever high-end wrapping paper at your favorite paper boutique, but a little creativity can express much more personality (and save a little money). A quick glance around the house might provide numerous options: old catalogues, atlases, old calendars or newspapers.

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Go paper free with a themed gift.
Make a baking basket, a movie night basket, or a spa kit!

For a truly personalized touch, a collage-wrap is a striking and easy DIY method. First, wrap the present with an understated paper—either actual wrapping paper or something more plain, like butcher wrap or an inside-out grocery bag. Next, use a glue stick or spray glue to attach clippings from magazines. For extra visual texture, carefully hand-tear images.

Paper-free wrapping
Even if you’re using recycled or discarded paper, chances are it will be thrown away after giving only a few seconds of pleasure, so to be truly eco-conscious, consider making the presentation an element of the gift. Scarves, monogrammed towels or tablecloths lend themselves perfectly to this purpose, as do antique jars or tins if the present is an appropriate fit. Reusable tote bags or pouches are another option; they are as practical as they are green.

Themed wrapping
If the wedding happens to have a particular motif, run with it in your gift’s presentation. For example, if the wedding has a seaside or beach theme, consider using mother-of-pearl wrapping paper and festoon the item with miniature shells and mock-jetsam in lieu of ribbons. Even if the event is a standard, theme-free affair, you can still incorporate a narrative that reflects the couple’s lives (careers, future plans, the story of how they met, etc).

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Show off you artistic abilities by
making your own bows or stamping your
own wrapping paper.

Custom-made paper
On the same wavelength as themed or collaged paper, this avenue lets the couple know you’ve spent some time thinking about them. Start with a large swath of craft paper, then add patterns and/or images according to your artistic abilities.

If you have the flair for it, write a few stanzas from a poignant poem in calligraphy. If not, go for stamps or stencils for hand-crafted patterns. Or, you might want to take a trip to Kinko’s to print up a computer-designed layout.
 
Alt ribbons and bows 
To embellish a present, traditional bows and ribbons do the job; however, there are several other alternatives to ribbons and bows for a finishing touch on a gift. Use your imagination, and if you’re going with some kind of theme, extend it to the final touches. If the wedding is close to Christmas, consider using garlands and ornaments. A spring wedding may call for artificial flowers and garlands. Use wire ribbon to anchor glass pieces from a junk-store chandelier—and so on. Details can truly bring it all together.
 
These suggestions are only the beginning and the possibilities are more limited by your imagination than your budget. The true secret is to let the couple know you truly know them at a deeper level. As long as that comes through, your gift will be remembered—regardless of what’s beneath the wrapping.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer founder of Gryffin Media in Southern California whose writing covers DIY, home improvement, marketing and technology. When wrapping a wedding gift, she always adds a personal touch to stand out from the rest.