• Photography

    How to get a Blurry Background in your photos

    Everyone wants a blurry background in their portraits. The photo automatically looks more professional and polished when the subject is focused and the background is blurred. I used to think only the most professional of photographers have the skill to create blurry backgrounds in their images. Actually, ANYONE can achieve a blurry background in their images.  So, how do you create a blurry background in your photos? The two key points: create depth and setting your lens to a low aperture. Creating depth is creating a distance between your subject or object and the background. Aperture is the size of the opening the lens. Aperture is also known as an…

  • Quiet Books

    How to Bind a Quiet Book

    There are a number of ways you can bind a quiet book. I personally love the way a fabric-bound quiet book looks. It is also a very durable and lasting binding. In this post I will walk you step by step on how to bind your own quiet book. This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Supplies needed: at least 1/2 yard Fabric (depends on size of your quiet book) buy here Rotary cutter buy here Quilting ruler buy here Self-healing cutting mat buy here Batting (optional) buy here I used 1/2 yard of fabric for the entire…

  • Photography

    How to take photos of a Solar Eclipse

    On August 21, 2017 I experienced for the first time a total solar eclipse. It was beyond amazing and completely exceeded my expectations. I really wanted to photograph this eclipse but thought the camera and lenses I owned were not capable of capturing this mighty event. I was wrong. At the time I owned my Canon Rebel T5 for less than a year and only had the lenses that it came with, an 18-55 mm and 78-300 mm zoom lenses. Although more expensive and capable equipment could have produced better images, I’m extremely happy with the performance of my little Canon Rebel and Canon 75-300 mm lens.  This post contains…

  • Photography

    Fall Photography Tips

    Are you planning on capturing the fall foliage this year? Fall is my FAVORITE time to take photos. I love all the color; I can’t get enough of it! There are several tricks I have found that produce more colorful, vibrant images without editing them. The pictures in this post have not been edited. You can get GORGEOUS images with these three simple tips. The camera I used to take these photos was a Canon Rebel T5 paired with a Canon 50 mm prime lens.  This post contains affiliate links. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Use a Polarized Filter If…

  • Quiet Books

    Book of Mormon Quiet Book

    After making my first quiet book, I decided I wanted to make both a Book of Mormon and a Bible quiet Book. I felt like this would be a great way to introduce my children to these Books of Scripture. I just finished the Book of Mormon quiet book a few days ago and in this post I’ll share the activity pages with you! By next year I’m hoping to finish the Bible quiet book. These activity pages are from Book of Mormon stories. They are shown pre-binding.  Edit (2022)- I just released a Book of Mormon quiet book template! Buy the download here: https://sewmuchtocreate.com/product/book-of-mormon-quiet-book-pattern/ This post contains affiliate links. As…

  • Quiet Books

    What You Need to Make a Quiet Book

    While pregnant with my son, I “nested” like crazy and took on all sorts of sewing projects. At the top of my list: a quiet book. I found it would be much more affordable AND more fun to make my own quiet book for my son. There were a lot of supplies I found very useful for making this quiet book, and in this post I will share them with you! Some of these items you may already have in your craft stash! This post contains affiliate links. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Supplies needed to make a Quiet Book…