Happy Birthday, Miss Abby!  Your happy photos will be posted soon!

{my not so good attempt at a self portrait of my crazy hair; air dried with no styling}

And there is MUCH for fun that revolves around her adoption, so be sure to stay tuned!

My first featured business woman is the fabulous, multitalented Melody Joy, who is an avid blogger (you MUST check out her, oh so hip, blog here: Ramblings of a Lovesick Mommy) and artist who also makes jewelry and has some mad knitting skills, as seen in her Etsy shop here: melodyjoy1983.  One item I really loved of Melody’s was this ’Mama Bird’s Nest Birthstone Necklace’.  Each egg color represents the month of the year your little bird “hatched.”  These necklaces are each carefully hand wrapped in non-tarnish silver plated silver wire.

We will be giving away not one, but two of these beautiful necklaces this month.  (these make great gifts, too! hint-hint)

BUT WAIT! Before we get to the giveaway details, I had to ask Melody some questions. What can I say, I like asking questions…I was a professional recruiter for over 10 years before I became a photographer.

What was your inspiration when you started your blog?  i started blogging a few years ago as a way to process my thoughts as a new mom. there were so many hilarious things my toddler did and said -and i learned quickly that unless i wrote them down right away, i would forget them by the next day (thanks, mom brain). also, i tried journaling but i always misplaced my journal. plus i type faster than i write, and i can’t quite lose the computer.

What’s the hardest part of blogging on a regular basis?  remembering that my number one reason for blogging is not for other people – but instead for myself and for my children to read one day. it’s easy to be discouraged when that little comment box says “0 comments”, but i am not writing for other people. i am writing for myself.  sometimes it’s hard to sit down and creatively communicate my thoughts and emotions of the day. i don’t want for my blog to be a place where i vent and whine – nor do i want it to be a place where i am falsely portraying a “has-it-all-together” image either. once i start going through my photos of the day or week, it’s easy to remember the thing that i love, and moments i want to record and remember.

When did you start making cowls and when did you decide to start selling them?  a few years ago i knit some just for fun and posted them online. several friends commented on how they wanted one – so i made an etsy shop, not really thinking it would become such therapy for me! it’s a fun place for me to feel creative and like i’m “traveling” when i ship off a package to australia – even though i’m a stay at home mom.

What or who inspires you now?  for writing: definitely my children. they are hilarious and seriously non-stop entertainment. i love them so much that it hurts. they inspire me to want to be a better person – a more patient – more joyful – more simple person. they love life so much and dance whenever music comes on. i want to be like that.
for my shop: i looooooooove pinterest. seriously people are so creative! also i like browsing other etsy shops and blogs when i have the time. i like to thrift shop alot, and vintage items makes me feel really happy and inspired to create. i also adore everything about nature. i love being outdoors and finding beauty in the simple things.

What would you like to be better at?  where to begin?! so many things. being organized – prioritizing – learning to be consistent. having this little business has taught me alot about not over-thinking i can do hundreds of projects in one week. i have to be realistic about where i am in life, and i want to enjoy this season of my children instead of constantly being busy or stressed with making things, which takes the joy out of what i was hoping the shop would be. also, if i drank more water and less coffee that would probably be good for me

Your first love is?  oh – i LOVE my husband. he is my best friend – we are so different yet similar.  he totally “gets me.” we do life as a team, and i love that. we are followers of Jesus. i guess I should say that first! in all honesty, sometimes i hesitate to say “we are Christians” right away because i know so many people have a skewed idea of what that means. we love Him, and we strive to serve Him in everything we do. we want to love people like He did – without judgement- just purely and unconditionally.

I want to give a big thanks to Melody for taking the time to share with us more about herself and for offering us some goodies to giveaway!  So you are likely asking, “How can I win one of those cool Mama’s Nest Necklaces?”

To enter:

1) Leave a nice comment on this post.  Yep, that is it.

Not required, but would be oh so very nice of you:

1) Head over to Facebook and like Melody’s Ramblings of a Lovesick Mommy page.  2) Like my Captured Simplicity Facebook page.

Winners chosen at random on Friday, Feb. 24th.  Both winners will get to add their own personal colored eggs to their necklace from the choices the choices below.

{If you might want to be a featured business on my blog, please apply by emailing me at info@photosbyamyleigh.com}

Because I not only photograph your family, but I hand edit each final image.  I take a good photo and make it pop.  I did not use any stock ‘actions’ to edit this photograph. I simply did a few of my standard Photoshop tweaks.  There is nothing wrong with actions.  There are more than enough to choose from on the market.  When I was first learning Photoshop, actions were very helpful to me in order to help me better understand layers and such.  But now, I find that the time it takes me to find an action and run it, I could have already edited the picture on my own.  So for me, time is the number one reason I don’t use actions.  However, I do use a Facebook resizing action for images I upload to facebook, but I don’t consider that part of my editing process. 

It took some patience for this little one to get to sleep, but I have perseverance like few.