mini-yo-we fundraising dinner

during the down season of my photography business,

it's been my privilege to do some graphic design work for 

camp mini-yo-we.

tomorrow is their annual silent auction and fundraising dinner.

this is the invitation i designed for this year's event:

for all those who are attending, it will be a great evening!

design project donation

a huge thank you to all those who participated in my 

christmas design project this year.

~

i decided to put the funds raised towards stocking a health clinic in Uganda

(our sponsor child, Peace, lives in Uganda).

"when you stock a clinic you'll help provide life-saving 

medicines for an entire community"

-world vision

our donation of $100 multiplies to $1400 worth of supplies...

thanks for helping to make this happen!

if you're looking for meaningful gifts under your tree this year

here are two great places to start:

world vision

mennonite central committee

christmas design project - year two

so i mentioned a week or two ago that i was going to do my design project again, 

but i didn't give many details...

that's because i had not decided who will receive the funds that are raised.

we've always embraced the gift catalogues that MCC and World Vision organize each year,

but i would love to hear other suggestions of other places to give to...

(i'll let you know what i decide)

since i've designed 6 cards already, I have $60 to donate.

and even though it is almost december - i could still do a few more designs...

in fact, i would love to!

it's $30 for a design with $10 going to charity.

you send me your photos, i'll work them into a 4x6 or 5x7 design
(your choice).

i'll save it as a jpeg and send it to you to proof.

once you love it, the design is yours to print 

as many as you like through your local photo printer.

you can send payment by cheque or email transfer.

sound good?

fun.

here is a design from last year:

(sorry, no sneak peaks this year!)

i would love to get the total up to $100 this year!

that means 4 more designs...

big thanks to those who have already contributed to this goal!

(if you have ordered a custom bamboo christmas card
you have contributed as well)

so please leave a comment and link below with your suggestion(s)

of who you'd like to see receive these funds.  

design project - year two

do you remember my christmas card design project from last year?

i have been busy this fall with my new photography business,

but the family sessions are winding down now.

this will allow me to do something similar this year!

please stay tuned...

if you already know you're interested in a christmas card design for this year

(and you've just been waiting for me to offer!)

leave a comment below or email me:

cheryl (at) bamboolifephotography (dot) com

more details on this year's project to come.

party invitations

the word on the street is that 

emery is having an olympic party this year!

we biked around the neighbourhood last week 

to drop the party 'tickets' in her friend's mailboxes...

looking forward to a fun afternoon,

i wonder who will take home the gold?!

if you have decor, snack or game ideas,

leave a comment below...

birth announcement design

here is my most recent work:

if you're looking for a custom photo design 

and wondering about rates, click here...

design process

i thought i would write a little bit about how 

the design process goes when doing custom card designs.

the first step is to find a photo or two that you love:

 i changed this photo to black and white and opened it in photoshop.

choose some colours to work with the photo
and then start playing around with shapes and fonts.

once i have a design that i like, 

i send it to the client and see what they think.

in this case, they liked the design, but wanted a different colour.

once i make their adjustments i save it as a jpeg.

as a jpeg you can send it to the photo printer of your choice 

and in no time you'll have a photo greeting card!

the holidays are getting closer...
very exciting!

i just got my cards from the printer,

now i have some writing to do.

christmas giving

big thanks to all those who have participated in my design project.

i have done more than 6 designs now and was able to go ahead and order 

two rabbits and a goat from the mcc giving campaign!

(happy dance...)

i love doing these designs, each one unique to the family or individual.

you can see some of my other designs 

for this christmas here, here, here & here!

i've gotten started on our own christmas card now 

(you'll have to wait to see that one!)

and was working on a new one today from this photoshoot.

christmas design

i've had so much fun doing designs the past couple weeks.

i was excited to receive photos from my giveaway winner this week to play with!

meet indigo, jack & ava.

i met this family during ballet (when our girls were 2) 

at the community centre,

then emery went to preschool with ava  

and now our kids attend the same public school.

this family is full of love, life, and creativity.

it's my guess that sarah (mom) knit all three sweaters in these photos 

and she captured these images!

amazing.

congrats on winning the giveaway sarah!

(i'm that one day sarah will do a giveaway 

on her blog for one of her knitting creations...)

more designs to share soon! 

i hope they're giving you something to smile about.

~

what do you most look forward to during the christmas season?

simply beautiful

what is giving me great joy right now is taking photos for friends & fam,

and using them to create christmas photo cards.

i hope to share more photos soon from my morning with these boys, 

but for now you can see the custom design i created with some favs:

christmas joy

here is another recent design,

 created for my sister & her beautiful family:

christmas smiles

i'm so happy that a few people have decided to participate in 

my design project for christmas...

i am ready to buy a goat and hoping to get the rabbits too

(still have a couple more spots if you're interested in a custom design).

this is the smiley family christmas card from last year:

on the weekend i had a mini-shoot with aubree at the park.

here is the christmas card i designed for this year:

two rabbits and a goat: design project

the other day i mentioned that i have an idea for christmas

that you can be a part of it.

i'm sure you would like a christmas card to send to family and friends this year, 

and i would like to buy some rabbits and goats from the 

mcc 'christmas giving' campaign.

two rabbits for a palestinian family cost $25.

one goat for a family in kenya costs $35.

photos are from the mcc website

"Rabbits, goats, poultry and fish can change a family’s life.  From Asia to Africa and the Middle East, animal projects help families earn money and put more food on the table. In Gaza City, Palestine,  Noor Al-Abid and her family are raising and selling rabbits. Noor’s family started with four females and one male rabbit. Just a year later, the family has 25 rabbits. Rabbits are especially valued for protein, and income from selling the animals helps families buy vegetables, bread and oil for cooking and heating." (MCC giving catalogue)

so, here's the deal.

i would love to design a photo christmas card for you for $30.

$10 from each design will go towards helping families in need.

if i get more than 6 orders (which would cover the rabbits and goats),

i would love to donate that towards a children's club 

for HIV-positive children in uganda ($60).

some custom designs from last year:

if you're interested in this,

leave a comment or send me an email 

and i can fill you in on the details.

if you know others who might appreciate a design 

and being involved in this project,

please share this with them!

sunsets and giveaway

so, i don't usually edit my photos too much, but today i did 

and the result is kind of fun!

perfect photo for my two girls:

emery loves pink, 

and selah loves purple!

(might have to print this for their room)

this one was taken the following night at southampton beach.  

amazing!

now, onto other news...

i have been blogging for one year now.

woot, woot!

some of you have been joining me since the beginning,

some have just started checking in recently.

i want to thank you all for taking the time to stop by.

your clicks and comments are so greatly appreciated!

blogging has been such a joyful journey for me.

sharing my photos and reflecting on life as the days go by,

it's good for my soul!

so in honour of my first year,

i thought it might be fun to have a lil giveaway!

i wanted to come up with something that could work for any reader 

from ontario to australia...

so here it is:

{one custom photo card design}

i think this is perfect with christmas right around the corner...

but it could also be a birthday photo or birth announcement design.

to see a few of my designs click here, here and here.

to enter

• please join this site with gfc (google friend connect on the right) or follow my page on facebook (and if you already do follow then you're good to)
• leave a comment below telling me what kind of design you are hoping for.

one winner will be chosen randomly next monday,

so that leaves lots of time to spread the word.

if you share this giveaway with friends via facebook or twitter (etc),
you can have one more entry
(leave a second comment to tell me how you shared it)

i hope you'll join the fun!

can't wait to design something special 

for the winner!!

if you win:

 you send me a few photo options to work with 

and i'll send you a custom design in jpeg format 

that you can have printed wherever you like.

if you don't win, but you're interested in a custom design
you can contact me for my prices.

happy blog birthday to me!
see you back here next monday
with something to smile about!

linking up here today:


the creative exchange

superstar

emery is turning 6.  soon.

i find it all quite crazy... 

this growing up so fast thing.

but the good news is,

i have a party to plan!  

here is the invitation:

front

back

turquoise and magenta are the colours of choice for this party!

(looking muted here, but nice & bold in print)

all i have left to 'plan' is the cupcakes and loot bags,

and a few fun decor details of course.

i guess at this party, i will be free to take lots of photos.

so excited for my girl and her big day! 

design fun

here are two designs created with my girls.  

emery knew what she wanted and where,
with the photo, shapes, words & colours - all you see!

it was fun to create things her way,

to help her send love to her best friend!

for selah's design, we just changed a few things,

she was all about the stars!

i'm sure their friends enjoyed these surprises in their inbox.
we're looking forward to some beach fun in southampton
with those best friends over the next few days!

~

next design will be a party invitation for my almost 6 year old...

crazy.

late night design

so fun to work on a project for my husband, jude.

check out his new blog header and logo:

and check out his blog, 

if you haven't already... tis good stuff!

birthday design

who wouldn't love to have this on their fridge?

such a sweet lil' girl...

new design

i had the pleasure of capturing these photos of quinn 

and creating this design for her mom and dad.

capture & create - makes me happy!

little hands

all the little hands at selah's preschool have been busy creating masterpieces...

tomorrow night is their third annual art show.

check back soon for some photos from this event