Sad Days

There have been some very sad days lately. My friend Meri's beautiful girl Caitlin died last Friday after a long, strenuous fight against her brain tumor. You can read an article about how much joy and life this girl squeezed into nine years and 11 months right here. The world has indeed lost some of its sunshine.

I find it very hard to find words because there are no words for a loss this large. As a mama, I cannot imagine the pain of losing my child. As a cancer survivor, I am reminded of the randomness of cancer -- who it strikes, who survives and who dies. I feel very raw and vulnerable during these sad, dark days.

At the same time, I know that I must not stay in a sad, dark place. Every day, I must find something beautiful, something to smile about, something to love. So I find myself staring at my garden blooms, or holding the Noodle a little bit longer than he'd like during a hug. Sometimes, I ignore the chores and sometimes the chores are a good distraction. Sometimes I don't feel like eating, sometimes cooking is the best thing to do. Sometimes I cry till my head aches, sometimes I watch a funny cat video on YouTube.

And isn't this the gist of life? We are neither able to maintain deep levels of despair, nor majestic happy highs for hour upon hour, until the day is over. Instead we bobble along a spectrum sometimes in a circuitous fashion, and sometimes in a rollercoaster-like way. Sometimes it's like driving down the interstate for hundreds of miles and sometimes it's more like a switchback.

I typed this post from the plane on my way to attend the funeral. When there are no words, at least this time, there can be hugs.

I will resume a normal blogging schedule next week.

P.S. Last Friday, hours before I found out about Caitlin, I sent out my email newsletter which contained a video in which I spoke about Caitlin. If you aren't on my email list, you can view the video here. I am going to extend my offer through May 31, 2013 to subscribers, so sign up here. I am also going to be hosting a lemonade stand for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation on Saturday, June 8th in honor of Caitlin's 10th birthday (on June 6th). More on that later...

Scene Around Home: Garden Roses

I am not a gifted gardener, and our rental home has a rather lush, old yard that we let grow wild and crazy. Living in the Pacific Northwest, it's not hard to do. Since we moved in almost two years ago, we have had a handful of volunteer trees pop up in various parts of the yard. Yes, trees. We have lilacs, blackberries, rhododendrons, ferns galore and of course, being Portland, there are roses. Two of the four roses are blooming now, here are quick iPhone snaps of the pastel pink and pale yellow roses from my garden.

I don't know what variety these roses are being the accidental gardener that I am. Now, my square foot garden, aka my mini-urban farm, is not accidental. I have my strawberries in and plan to put in my kale and lettuce soon. Now you may think I'm a little behind planting lettuce in mid-May, but actually I am way ahead of schedule compared to last year when I planted everything in July.

If you know what my roses are, please tell me in the comments. I would also love to know what is growing in your garden and what if any veggies you are growing.

One Branch: Cancer Profiles

I would like to profile some of the people and charities that are connected to One Branch, my postcard subscriptions for people to support loved ones with cancer.

I will start with the one I know the best, me. If you are new to my blog, you can learn a lot about me by reading this Willow Glen Resident newspaper article written about me in 2005. I was training for a century with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that ultimately I was unable to do because of my lymphoma acting up. Team in Training is celebrating their 25th year of fundraising for blood cancers. Back in 2005, I raised $6,000 for research and I hope One Branch sales will add to their coffers.

Saturday, May 11th was the 13th anniversary of my lymphoma diagnosis. I still remember the phone call, but the rest of the day has disappeared from my memories. I remember before the call, and I remember the call, and I remember feeling 1,000 things at once after I hung up the phone. Then, I remember nothing. I am sure a lot of people can relate to that feeling of the world screeching to a halt. Last year on my NHL anniversary, I dedicated my post to my Stop NHL family, cancer survivors everywhere and all those left behind.

It's more poignant than ever to me now, seeing what my sweet friend and mama Meri is going through with her precious daughter. Stay tuned for the next cancer profile!

Ten Years of Motherhood

My son turned 10 on Tuesday.

I had a lot of fun birthday photos to share on my blog, but then...my friend Meri got devastating news about her daughter Caitlin.

And I really don't have much to say right now except I am so grateful that I am a mother to my wonderful, healthy son. I am beyond lucky that I've had ten years already with him.

Hold tight to love, that's all I know.

That's really all we have.

Peony Season

Peonies are appearing in Portland and I couldn't be more excited. On Friday, I bought these three pink peonies as a gift for my mother-in-law who was flying in late that night.

Aren't they delicious? I have one peony bush in my yard and there are about 8 buds this year. Last year there were only three. I can't wait to photograph them!

Happy Monday!

Let's Talk About Sharing Content Online

Holly Becker of decor8 has brought up a meaty topic on her blog today about the blogging trend towards 100% original content vs sharing each other's content or some mixture of the two styles. She writes: "How can we discuss trends if no one has images to share supporting those discussions unless they take these images themselves – and because they don’t have the images they clam up? While it’s important to get permission from photographers and to link back, credit sources, etc. These discussions need to take place and should be taking place for the sake of our community."

As a content creator, I feel like chiming in. There are three factors I feel contribute to issues with sharing content online: 1. Ad-supported bloggers are being compensated for their content, and not necessarily sharing the compensation when they are sharing other people's content; 2. Content has been shared irresponsibly leading to fears by creators of losing control over their work as well as possible sales; 3. There is a culture of immediate gratification and urgent deadlines that do not allow people to take time to ask for permission to use other people's content.

On the first factor, I can say it can be hard to see bloggers grow their reach by generally being content aggregators, get ad revenue and make a living with their blogs but not credit responsibly at the absolute minimum or perhaps come up with a way to compensate people for their work by inviting them for a paid guest post.

Regarding the second factor, when sharing happens irresponsibly (hello Tumblrs and Pinterest), creators lose sales and this hurts them in a direct way. This has happened to me, and brings up the large debate over the issue of watermarking. If you watermark your work, people can find you IF your watermark is not stripped. But if you watermark, then people are less likely to feature your work. It's a tough decision for a lot of creators. There is also a very large risk of your work becoming an orphan work and losing your copyrights all together.

Finally, in the rush to be on trend, and our fast-paced lifestyles, who has time to wait to publish a post so they can get permission? Many people operate by the idea that they'll use the content now, apologize and remove it later if needed. I know I need to slow down and get back to my blogging roots when I would read posts and comment. If you are not using an editorial calendar and planning your posts in advance, you are less apt to be patient. I do not use an editorial calendar yet so I do not use other people's work anymore. I don't know when I quit but it was a long time ago. Before that, I tried my very best to use work with Creative Commons licenses or copyright notices on the sites stating it could be used with credit. Speaking of which, let's all take the time to create copyright notices and state clearly what we allow. Let's make it easier to share! I've got one in my sidebar over there on the right.

I have asked myself, "How big would my Pinterest account be if I was willing to repin every gorgeous un-sourced Tumblr image that crosses my feed there alone?" It is frustrating, not to mention blogging. Please know I am not speaking in absolutes here. I know there are so many ethical, wonderful bloggers out there who take the time to share the love. In an ideal world, people would share content responsibly all the time and content creators would be compensated fairly for their content. Unfortunately, this has been the exception rather than the rule. Today, I'm not even going to get into copyright infringement on the corporate level, a topic I am passionate about and have experienced.

I hope you will join the conversation too. It is a big conversation and I love to contribute and try to help improve things. Holly is right on the money when she talks about the power of the blogging community. It can elevate or not, depending on how the power is used. I am sure I was rambling a bit, but I'm thinking out loud. At the heart of sharing, there needs to be trust. When trust has been broken, it's hard to overcome. I know I feel vulnerable but I don't let it stop me from sharing my work. That would be giving in to the fear.

Have a wonderful weekend!

One Branch -- Available Now

Order Your Subscription Here

It is with great honor and pride that I announce today the launch of my One Branch postcard subscription service! As you know, this offering has a very special history to me and the title comes from this quote by Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire: "We are the leaves of one branch, the drops of one sea, the flowers of one garden."

Whether you order one month, three months or six months, you will feel great supporting a loved one going through cancer with soothing images from nature and encouraging quotes from Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, Voltaire and many more inspiring authors and thinkers. Three and six month subscribers will receive a discount of 10% and 20% respectively.

I will take this opportunity to share a special detail that I've been waiting to reveal: 10 percent of every subscription will be donated to cancer research and I have vetted the following 11 organizations representing the ten most common cancers in the United States, plus one focusing on children because their needs are very different from adults.

I couldn't be more proud to launch One Branch on May 1st because May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month. My dear friend Meri's daughter Caitlin has been fighting a relapse of her brain tumors. You can follow Caitlin's story right here.

I'm going to build a wall of hope for every survivor I learn about through One Branch. One reason I chose a toy deer for some of the product photos was this quote by Emily Dickinson: "A wounded deer leaps the highest." I know this to be true.

Here's to our collective health and a cure for cancer!

Dogwoods for Days

I've been listening to Hawaiian music on Pandora with my office windows open to a sunny, warm day and editing my dogwood photos that I took earlier this week. It's all rather blissful if I do say so. I have enough dogwood photos to last you for days. Are you ready?

If you enjoyed these, please let me know in the comments and please feel free to pin them!

Have a beautiful weekend!

A Spring Walk

It has been glorious in Portland this week. It's hard to concentrate on work when it's warm and sunny outside. I decided not to fight the desire to take a break. I grabbed Jackson and went for a walk around my Northeast Portland neighborhood.

Isn't it almost as if you were there by my side? I hope so.

An Apple Blossom

Spring in Portland is a feast for my eyes. The bloom cycle this year: cherry trees, magnolia trees, apple trees, dogwood trees and now the rhodies have popped. Here is an apple blossom I photographed this weekend on my in-law's tree in Lake Oswego.

I know my Monday started off a little rough, so if yours did too, I hope this photograph lifts your spirits as much as it did for me.

One Branch -- Overview

I was very excited mid-week when my first batch of product for One Branch arrived from my vendor. I can't wait to share this overview photo with you today. I proudly introduce my new project, One Branch!

Is it all making sense now? Just as I received loving, handwritten postcards every week from Amy while I was going through chemotherapy, now I'm offering a way for you to do the same thing for someone else in a cancer battle. I have selected some of my most calming, comforting, beautiful, soothing images for a postcard subscription service. It will include five postcards per month with a collection of my favorite inspirational and encouraging quotes AND beautiful stamps. All you have to do is choose one quote per week from my list (or your own), write it on the back and pop the postcard in the mail.

I have a lot of product photography to shoot for this project ahead of me, plus setting up the shop for this new addition. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to bring this idea to life. I cannot wait to ship these precious packages into the world every month. In fact, I have often felt helpless watching my own loved ones fight The Beast, so I know it will feel good to do something tangible on a regular basis, especially when you are too far away to provide hugs, meals or babysitting for your family members or friends.

I feel especially compelled to focus on creating beauty, love and art after the tragic events this week in the U.S. (not to mention around the world every day). The bad news can be overwhelming, which is why it is vitally important to focus on the good.

Stay tuned next week for more special details about One Branch.

One Branch Project -- The History

There is a special history behind my One Branch project and it has everything to do with creating, supporting and being part of an encouraging community.

When I went through chemo the very first time, 13 years ago, my dear friend Amy sent me a postcard every single week for the entire six months. It always had an inspiring quote handwritten on the back, which carried a lot of meaning to me because in high school, she and I used to trade quotes every morning on little slips of paper.

I've never forgotten those postcards all these years and the One Branch project is going to be my way of taking Amy's concept and extending it out in a big way. (Don't worry, I asked Amy if it was okay with her before I even began).

Stay tuned for the next reveal of the One Branch project on Friday.

The One Branch Project -- Coming Soon

Good morning! I am far away from Tax Day celebrating my husband's 40th birthday with our extended family, but I wanted to share something special with you while I'm gone. It's a special new project I have been working on and it's coming soon to my shop. For today I am sharing the inspiration behind the name "One Branch."

One Branch will have many more photographs, in a new form, and many more quotes. There is also a special history behind it and a very special mission ahead. I can't wait to share more!

Spring in a Nutshell

This photo of bright yellow flowers bursting against a moody sky is spring in a nutshell, am I right?

My weekend was busy! My husband's mother flew in from California for the start of a two-week visit, the Noodle had his first top-roping rock climbing competition and I worked hard creating a new product to offer soon. I placed my order with my vendor last night and I can't wait to receive it in 10 days, so I can photograph it and share it with you. There is a very personal story behind this idea and it's hopeful, encouraging and serene. Are you intrigued?

No Limits

This is my favorite photo that I took this week. It's a sign on the side of a building over on NE Alberta Street in Portland.

It commands you to stop and think, doesn't it? I've been thinking about what sorts of limits I have been putting on myself. I've been limiting the amount of rest and downtime I'm allowing myself to have. I have also been limiting the amount of Kettle chips I want to have. I'm trying to set myself free of limiting thoughts about my business.

What sorts of limits are you putting on yourself?

How to Make an Adjective Poster for Your Business

I'm really excited to share this little project I made up for myself. Awhile ago, I polled my Facebook pals and challenged them to describe my photography in just one word. I received the most wonderful list of adjectives that I never could have thought of on my own, as I'm too close to my own work to see it sometimes. I decided to make myself an adjective poster for my business with the list of words everyone graciously generated for me.

I had made myself a Wordle right away but I never liked how it turned out. There it sat printed out on my desk anyway, reminding me how my work is truly received. Last night, I decided to make a beautiful poster that reflected the beauty behind the words. Without over-thinking it, I chose one thing to focus on graphically, and that was "raw beauty." I made it large and bold in a beautiful type. Then I grouped all of the other adjectives and played with their alignment next to my largest element, using a simple type so it didn't compete. I printed it on a luxurious paper from Paper Source.

I'm not a graphic designer or an illustrator, and I made this in Mac Pages instead of Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop (even though I have both programs). I put the cute banners on for my blog using PicMonkey. If I can do this, so can you! It's going to live on my inspiration board above my desk now, reminding me in a beautiful typographical way that people see my work in all these beautiful, thought-provoking ways. I encourage you to make your own adjective poster for your business too!

I'm Not a Fool, I Protect my IP!

Good morning! Today may be April Fool's Day but I'm not fooling around when it comes to protecting my Intellectual Property to the fullest extent of the law in the United States. My full instructions for today's event actually went up yesterday as my second contributor post on Oh My Handmade Goodness.

Many thanks to Abigail Page for creating two versions of the beautiful badge!

You can click the badge to read about how to register your copyright, why I encourage you to make a template for a cease & desist letter before you have a need for one and three levels of action for a copyright notice on your websites and shops: good, better and best. Since this is my first Don't Be a Fool! Day and I planned it on such short notice, I was not able to research and include instructions for other countries. I certainly want to expand on the information I have shared so far, if you would like to collaborate for the next version on July 1st, please reach out to me via email or in the comments.

As for me, the hostess of this event, you may be wondering which actions steps I'm taking to protect my IP today. I'm excited to share that I'm going to be doing a bulk registration of my work today vs. individual works! I do plan to make a template today also, but since I have recently rebranded my business, I need to make new letterhead first. Finally, I'm planning to strengthen my copyright notice over there in my right sidebar and I'll be going for the "best" option as described in my full post. I am so inspired by Kim Niles' comprehensive legal section on her website.

In a very serendipitous way, I learned about two things late last week related to my action day:

1. PhotoShelter and the American Society of Media Photographers have teamed up to offer a new Photographer's Guide to Copyright. If you do nothing else today but register your copyright(s), you are already ahead of 99% of professional photographers in the U.S., according to the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), see page 3.  They are clearly trying to improve those numbers!

2. There is a new website called imgembed that was created to improve the way images are shared online. I have only watched their demo video myself, so I can't vouch for it but it's certainly worth a look!

Let's be honest, navigating these laws is difficult and confusing. Please don't let ovewhelm, intimidation or fear get in the way of starting somewhere. I've shared many links to help you get started, just pick one and see where you end up, okay? I believe in you and I care about your IP, so please go read my full post!

Don't Be a Fool! Protect your IP

I have a challenge for you this weekend, are you ready? I want you to set aside some time to prepare  for a day of action on Monday, April 1st. It's called "Don't Be a Fool!" day and together, we will take solid action steps to protect our intellectual property (IP).

Beautiful badge created by the talented Abigail Page for Sweet Eventide

I want you to join me on this creative copyright awareness and action campaign on April Fool's Day. Here are the action steps in detail:

• registering at least one copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office
• prepare a template for a cease & desist letter (should you ever need to use one, you'll be ready)
• create/update the copyright policies on your websites/blogs

If you can't commit to doing all three items in the challenge, then I vote for a commitment to register one copyright. Take some time this weekend to get organized and determine which piece of work (or works) you want to register. This way the actual registration process will go smoothly and easily for you on Monday.

If you want to know more about why copyright registration is so vitally important* to fully protecting your IP, it's because if you found yourself needing litigation to resolve a copyright infringement, you will be eligible for both attorneys' fees and statutory damages. Without the registration, you are only eligible for infringing profits or a direct loss of income as they relate to the infringement. Registration means the difference of potentially thousands upon thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees alone.

* Read page 7 to learn more about the advantages of registering your copyright(s).

On Monday, I will have all the links you will need to complete your copyright registration in a new blog post. If you just can't wait, then the links are contained in my post on Oh My Handmade Goodness from Tuesday. If you need ideas to prepare for the template, please review Lela Barker's post, also on Oh My Handmade Goodness.

This beautiful badge is meant to be shared. You may download it, write a blog post with it, put it in your sidebar, etc. We want as many creatives as possible to take action on Monday, April 1st because we are NOT fools and we WILL protect our IP together!

Are you in?

Let me know in the comments if you'll be keeping me company. Please do the creative community a favor, and share this post using the buttons below this post!

Protecting Your Copyright

As a creative, are you fully protecting your copyright?

Let’s Get Ethical image designed by Lauren Hardage for OMHG

{used with permission}

This week, I am actively participating in the Ethics Theme with the Oh My Handmade Goodness (OMHG) community of creatives. Yesterday, I shared a guest post titled "Infringement Case Study and Resources to Protect Yourself" in which I shared my corporate copyright infringement story  as well as my number one tip for creatives: register your copyrights. My post has several links to help creatives take action on protecting their copyright.

Today, there is a new post titled "Taming the infringement beast" with even more action items. I encourage all creatives to take the time to read my post and Lela Barker's post. I am so inspired by the OMHG community response to my case that I'm now organizing a day of action for April 1, 2013 called "Don't be a fool! Protect your IP."

Stay tuned for more as I develop the "Don't be a fool!" day as quickly as I can.

Weekend Report

It was a beautiful weekend here in Portland. I had a mid-day date with my sweety while our son was out playing at the park with a friend. We headed over to Foster & Dobbs for some beverages (wine for me, beer for him), curry lentil soup and salad. The light in the cherry tree across the street from where we sat was dazzling.

It has been so long since we had a date, and we cherished the quiet time together to sit and chat. Later that evening, I visited my friend Kim at her shop Maven Collective. We ended up for dinner at The Observatory, where the most lovely flowers and candles welcomed you from the cold evening air.

Sunday morning, my boys headed up to Mt. Hood for their first day on the slopes since we moved to Oregon. Not only that, but the Noodle tried snowboarding for the first time as well. While they were having an awesome Daddy/Son day, I joined Kim again for a happy visit to Plucky Maidens. I bought this club moss for Jeff's office, isn't the vintage white planter divine?

I ended my day with some long overdue Jess Time. I went back to Foster & Dobbs for soup (I got red wine this time, chardonnay on my date) before heading into Root Whole Body for a long overdue massage.

Did you notice a theme here of long overdue self care? Even on weekends, I tend to work, whether it is for my business or for my house. I haven't been giving myself this kind of free time. I'm actually working on that issue, but dates and massages haven't been tended to for awhile. Trust me, I notice the irony that when I am the most stressed is the very time that I am the most apt to toss self-care out the window. Why?

Does that happen to you too or do you have your self-care dialed down to a routine?