Cheap Oversized Photo Art

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How many times have you google searched cheap prints? I have a  l o t. Pretty much every time I have a show or event.  I’m always trying to figure out the best way to produce LARGE photographs inexpensively.  Katie recently introduced me to a new method: Engineer Prints.  Engineer prints reproduce line drawings and graphics with high definition and contrast, but they’re also really great for making large black and white photography prints.  Engineer prints are the perfect low-cost option when you’re looking for a statement piece without the price tag.  Since these prints range from only a buck to $10, the quality is obviously not fit for The Louvre, but they’re definitely awesome enough for a wall in your home or as a focal point at your next art show.

In addition to sharing our love of engineer prints, we also wanted to show you a simple way to add some structure to your print before hanging it. This will help to turn the image from something that looks like a poster into a more substantial piece of art.

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Seasoned View: Vol 17

Each month we share our Seasoned View.  Snapshots of nature and daily life taken by the Seasoned sisters. Find last month’s past months’ here.

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Happy Monday! It’s August. Holy crap. Time to get movin’ on all your summer plans.  This month will surely be my busiest and most fun yet.  I actually have to work on another task so I’ll keep it brief.  You can upload one or all of these photos to use as your desktop background or as phone and tablet wallpapers.  Simply click on the download link below each photo and save the image.  Enjoy!

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Two Bits

We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same.  You are welcome to share a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned.

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Sarah here :

Can you see it? Yep, that’s three adobe programs open at once.  My to do list is a mile long this week month and while it’s a little intimidating, it’s also thrilling and I love trying to squeeze it all in.  There are never enough hours in a day, but that’s why I organize my list by week! I’m definitely a list person.

As you know, I’m preparing for my trip to Nepal, which means I’m squeezing in all kinds of odd jobs and activities before go.  Right now I’m focusing a lot of energy on my RAW gallery show in Raleigh.  I’m digging through my archives and ordering prints, designing postcards and trying to envision my space.  I’m  shooting a wedding this Saturday and working in the darkroom on Sunday then next week I’m off to visit Katie (the other half of Seasoned) in Colorado :)! I’m also trying to iron out all the details of the upcoming Schu Farm Fest, a mini music and arts festival, the Schu siblings hold every year. Okay, last year was the first year, but it was amazing and it will go on forever.  Of course, I’m always working on organizing and creating materials for Haand, the lovely housewares company where I work.

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Oh yeah, I’m 26 now! My birthday was last Saturday.  I spent the morning at The Honeysuckle Tea House, hiked in the afternoon with Cash and Kevin, and then went to an event held at a local goat cheese and milk farm.  While the farm party was not exactly what we envisioned (beer flowing freely from a dozen spouts and baby goats in pajamas), we had a great time.  While we waited for the local brewery reps to arrive, K and I rowed a boat across the pond, mooed at innocent calves, ate our weight in Middle Eastern food and kissed baby goats.

I shopped online for health insurance yesterday.  It was worse than doing taxes.

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Katie here :

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Ack! This week flew by in a flash. Ready for it?

  • Monday : I don’t even remember.
  • Tuesday : Drove to Aspen for a meeting and back. I couldn’t help but stop at the top of Independence Pass for a photo! It never gets old.
  • Wednesday : Recovered from Tuesday just in time for a little picnic dinner in our favorite park.
  • Thursday : I had one goal all day. Make a kicka$$ dinner, and I did. More on that soon!
  • Friday : We’re heading out of town tonight for a weekend camping trip with five other families! It’s going to be crazy. Let’s hope the kiddos sleep.

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In between all of that I’ve been working to repair my broken hard drive. The one with all of my photos since 2003 (yikes!). We’re in the homestretch and everything is going to be recovered! And if you’re wondering where my backup was, this was my main copy and my backup. Thanks LaCie.

 

How was your week?

State College, Pennsylvania

We love traveling. Check out some other travel spotlights or watch our four favorite travel documentaries on Netflix.

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It’s Wednesday! It’s time to procrastinate and daydream about traveling and visiting spaces you’ve never seen before.  I must admit, I wasn’t always in love with State College, Pennsylvania.  Growing up, I thought of it as a drinkers’ paradise where sports fans would flock on the weekends to watch Penn State football.  I was absolutely right about those things, but State College is so much more than that.  It’s Happy Valley, an adorable little city nestled between mountains in the middle of beautiful central Pennsylvania.  As an adult, I was reintroduced to State College when Katie and her husband bought a home there.  They both worked at Penn State University and I had just returned from Thailand when they convinced me (it wasn’t too hard) to move away from Philadelphia and move in with them.  I spent the next eight months working as a delivery driver, walking their dog. readjusting to life in America and learning my way around town.

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After a couple weeks, I knew the streets better than Katie, but she introduced me to a lot of the goodness on this State College city guide list.  State College is a completely different space depending on what time of year you are visiting.  During the summer, it is usually calm because many of the students are gone. The city actually halves in population!  It goes without saying that summer is my absolute favorite time to visit.  In the Fall, during football season, downtown is crazy crowded with students and fans that flock from across the state and nation to watch Penn State football.  If you’re a female delivery driver that means stacks of cash and lots of traffic.  In the dead of winter, State College is cloudy, icy and cold. I try to avoid winter in State College at all costs, but really, I try to avoid winter everywhere at all costs.

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Mad About Moths

It’s National Moth Week! Learn about the differences between moths and butterflies or learn how to keep clothes moths away from your precious wool sweaters.

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Yesterday we took a little moment away from moths to whip up some lemon curd a.k.a summer in a jar, but today we’re back with some moth madness!  Originally I intended to show you how to attract moths, but I apparently moths hate me.  I hung up a white sheet yesterday and today and NADA. I’m blaming it on the late evening rains we had because I promise you I did everything that I was advised. You can try that activity for yourself and let me know how it goes, hopefully better than it went for me ;). Fear not faithful readers, I searched the web far and wide for some fun moth links sure to delight the moth lover in you.

I might need to add more nectar plants to my yard to attract moths in greater numbers.

Raise a little moth lover of your own with this cute and colorful caterpillar sleeping bag for kids.

I think this fabric moth sculpture is pretty rad.

This moth halloween costume is so cute that I may make an adult version this year!

The Moth actually has very little to do with moths.  It’s true stories told live, and most of them are amazing. Read about how The Moth got its name here.

This watercolor painting of a Luna Moth is absolutely gorgeous. Have you had the pleasure of seeing a live Luna Moth? Thankfully I have and even though it was a decade ago, it’s something I won’t forget.

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I love this moth watercolor too. I wish I could paint!

The woman behind The Butterfly Babe Gallery has an amazing story and lovely photos.

The internet is amazing. Remember when you would search for the perfect piece of clipart all computer class long?! Well now you can easily search and find what you need, like this pretty moth vector.

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A few years ago, I was living in Thailand and visiting plenty of night markets. I came across a stall that was basically a rummage sale and I found a framed Atlas Moth.  The stall owner was nowhere to be found, but I waited there for ten minutes until they returned so I could purchase it, for $5, which is hella expensive in Thailand, but crazy cheap (in my opinion) for the largest moth in the world! At the time, I had no idea it was the largest moth, I just really, really like framed insects, now it’s one of my most prized possessions.

We’re not trying to make this a competition, but ever since I made the venn diagram and wrote ‘moths typically have drab-colored wings,’ I’ve felt pretty bad about it. So here are twenty beautiful moths for you to feast your eyes on and to ease my guilt. #sorrymoths

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Moths and Butterflies

Dudes! It’s National Moth Week! We’re treating this week as an opportunity to educate ourselves and others (you!) about the wonderful world of moths.  I hope you’ll read along this week and spread the news.  National Moth Week is a celebration of one of the most diverse and successful organisms on earth.  Scientists estimate there are anywhere from 150,000-500,000 moths on earth.  If I could do one thing to celebrate National Moth Week, it would be to trek into the rainforest, set up a white sheet, shine a spotlight on it and watch them flock to it, but unfortunately my rain forest moth-ing dreams must wait.  I am going to try to make time to do that aforementioned activity in my backyard though.  National Moth Week is a great time to become a citizen scientist and collect data.  I might not get a glimpse of an Atlas Moth, but maybe I’ll see a Luna.

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Two Bits

We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same.  You are welcome to share a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned.

Sarah here :

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This week has been equal parts work and play. On Monday and Tuesday, I ran around from job to meeting to gallery walk-through, and now that Friday is here, I’m chillin’ on the beach.  This is my first visit to the Outer Banks and so far it’s lovely. The beach is free and alcohol is permitted so that’s where you can find me all weekend!

How to: Photograph Young Siblings

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Family portraits are hard.  There’s a good chance everyone involved has varying levels of interest in taking a great portrait.  I’m usually the one in the bunch groaning, so I’m here to tell you how to make future family shots a little less painful, specifically portraits of young siblings.

It all comes down to making it quick, easy and safe for the little ones.  You’re not going to walk away with fifty amazing portraits, but if you get one great shot, the squawks and squeals are all worth it.  In previous posts, we gave you a primer on photography, newborn portraits and kid candids.  I advise skimming those posts to get a better understanding of light and photography before setting up your mini models.

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Seven Delicious Popsicle Recipes

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Happy Monday!  What’s in store for your week?  I’m attempting to squeeze forty hours of work into three days before skipping off to the Outer Banks, North Carolina.  I’ve never been there before so I’m SUPER excited to explore the coast yet equally pumped to sit back, sun it up, and finish my book.  While I’m wasting away in front of my monitor editing, designing and emailing, you should probably mix up one or all of these delicious popsicle recipes that we’ve featured in the past.

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Two Bits

We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same.  You are welcome to share a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned.

Sarah here :

This week went by in a blink! The pottery studio was extra sweaty this week, but I cooled off by drinking jars of iced cold chia seed water.  Staying hydrated is key to staying happy while working among 2300 degree kilns.

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I also had a few friends visiting Chapel Hill.  It’s always fun to entertain visitors and overload them with suggestions.  Yesterday we went for a hike with Catahoula_Cash near the Haw River.  It was a muggy, sweaty hike, but it was fun to get out into the woods and splash around in the creeks and river for a bit.  After the hike we headed into town to eat at Al’s Burger shack, arguably my favorite grub in Chapel Hill.  Then we trotted down the block to Beer Study for a couple brews to end the night.

This weekend I’m going to State College, Pennsylvania for Arts Fest. I love walking around in the sunshine and seeing what our Pennsylvania artists are creating.  I’ll also stop by my favorite yoga studio in town and the Simply Health salt spa for some relaxation.  Hope you find a bit of relaxation yourself this weekend!

Katie is not here!

Why? Because it’s her birthday! Happy Birthday Katie! I wish I could give you a big squeeze!  Katie tried to contribute to this post, but her hard drive and her internet are malfunctioning so let’s all wish her luck for this coming year!