Oh hey, i know you.
You're a mom trying her best to make all the mama magic and keep up with all the good advice and somehow stay sane.
I know you because I am you, and I am pumped you opened this education page. That means you’re eager to learn something new and what I have to offer can help make your days happier (they’ve certainly helped me!). Have you ever ended your day and realized you spent a good chunk of the it scrolling past other people’s highlight reels? Been overwhelmed by the less-than feeling? Ya, same.
I know the days are long but the years are short as a mother. That’s why I use my professional experience as a photographer and art educator to give moms creative tools that help them craft a happy home and spend more meaningful time with their people. I’m here to give you resources for cultivating joy inside your home and heart. As an art educator, photographer, and DIY addict, I know the positive impact a creative practice can have on your well-being. Click the categories below to learn more about what I offer.
*Most of my photography education content is now housed on Manual Mode for Moms, but it is all explained and linked here!
Art Education
If the idea of busting out art projects with your littles makes you break out in a cold sweat, you’ll love all of my ideas for EASY, low-stress, less-mess art with littles.
DIY
You’ve never met a good idea fairy like this good idea fairy and your SO is going LOVE me when you present them with all the affordable, easy DIY projects you find to make your home cozier and happier! 😬
ART EDUCATION
You’ve tried introducing your young child to art materials before, and let me guess, you're overall thought was, "never again."
Maybe you’ve thought, “my kid is just too young for this, I’ll wait.” I promise, I have a solution for you. Still thinking, “lady, my child just puts the art materials in his mouth, I’ll save your blog for later.” Just WAIT! I want to assure you I started making art with my daughter as soon as she could sit up on her own and I am now seeing the fruits of my labor as I watch my 4 year old happily drawing in her playroom for literal HOURS. Or asking me to make with her when she needs to fill her cup.
I totally understand the intimidation factor with art–the only reason I pushed through the mess is because I am a certified art teacher and simply love art. But now I know my approach has truly benefited my daughter (and I) and I want you and your child to benefit, too! When she was little I KNOW my friends thought I was coo-koo for cocoa puffs when they saw me busting out paint and pens and clay and more. “I wish!” they’d say. But the thing is, you don’t have to wish, you just have to do.
The basic premise of my approach? The more 1-on-1 time you spend introducing them to art materials, the more independently and confidently they can use them later, AND the more connected to you they feel. Pretty obvious, right? But it’s SO easy to forget the immense emotional payoff for our children when you’re scrubbing sharpies off furniture (hot tip, don’t recommend leaving those out). We keep it light-hearted and fun here, and set a threshold for mess so you’re not breaking out in hives when you break out the supplies. Check out these recent posts and you’ll understand!
DIY PROJECTS
I really believe that the way our home looks and feels has a huge impact on our mood. Whatever vibe your house is giving is then compounded daily if you’re the primary caregiver who is home more often. After living in military housing most of my life, I took a hard dive into DIY when we bought our first home and never looked back.
I love sharing the projects I come up with and how they make me happier not only because they improve my space, but because I get that innate sense of pride that comes from working with your hands and creating something! I hope you find something to inspire you and help make your home a little cozier and happier.
My husband has two loving nicknames for me. One is “Nutmeg,” the other is “the good idea fairy.” 😬 Click on any photo to read about all the great ideas I definitely do not annoy him with.
let me guess,
You want a life well-lived and well-documented.
But when you pull your phone out for a snapshot, it doesn’t quite capture the moment as beautifully as it unfolds (or as beautifully as those Apple ads swore it would). Or when you pull that “real” camera out (that you had lots of good intentions for) your disappointed in the results Auto is giving you and get so intimidated and lost in the settings that you decide, “forget it.” Teaching yourself on YouTube isn’t cutting it and you’re ready to list that camera on Facebook marketplace and have to listen to your SO others, “I told you so,” if someone doesn’t reveal its secrets, FAST.
Take a deep breath, because you have arrived. I am here for you. You know why?
When I was a kid, I loved going through my parents giant blue rubber bin of family photos. It was fun to see photos of places I didn’t remember and to see what our family was like in the past. It also made me felt really valued to know that my parents thought I was important and special enough to photograph. It mattered to me that they loved me so much they wanted to document me and keep these special little memories a part of our family’s history.
Photography does that. It has a rich tradition of helping preserve family legacies, and it has a hidden secret I’m obsessed with that I want you to unlock with me. Photography can also be another touchpoint for connecting with your loved ones.
It ain’t easy being the memory maker and keeper of the family, I know. 😅 It’s dang hard work (at least on the backend, hello pile of photos I need to edit). Our camera rolls are exploding and iCloud won’t stop asking if we want to add storage, but ya know what?
This is work that beautifully tells the story of the boundless love you have for your people. Work that keeps your family’s story alive. ✨🙌 When you do this work, there are ways to do it that make your people feel GOOD and loved and cared for and it doesn’t have to be, “look here, smile, SMILE, look at the camera! Say Cheeeeeese!” (it in fact will never look like that if you stick with me.)
If you want to be the one your people trust to capture your story, you’re in the right place! Now that you’ve found me, you’ve unlocked a whole new level of resources that will help you turn your photography frustrations into celebrations. I’m here to support you on your photography in motherhood journey, every step of the way.
Pretty Phone Photos Guide
15 pages of ALL my tips and tricks to mastering your phone camera settings and taking frame-worthy photos today, for FREE. Sometimes I am not sure why I still give this away for free but I guess it’s because I just believe in photography so much and want you to, too!
Blog Posts
Wondering what bokeh is? What the difference between your phone and camera are? What tripod to buy? What your camera’s crop factor is Or literally hundreds of other photography related questions? Check the blog!
Resource Shop
Need inspiration, a guide, a a little hand-holding? My newest endeavour to get photography resources into the hands of moms is my photography resource shop with affordable, instant, downloadable resources (and also a v cute sticker).
Workshops
Looking for shorter, hands-on creative courses that leave you with a finished end product? There is currently one live workshop and one online/instant access workshop available!
let me tell you a story
About a mama who thought she was SUPER ready for motherhood, and then felt like she got hit by a freight train when her baby came. (Hi, that mom is me). Nothing felt like it was coming naturally. I started to wish the time away, dreaming of that day I would sleep more than an hour stretch. I was struggling to find the joy that used to come so easily to me.
It wasn’t motherhood that made me joyless. It was that I finally had a reason to pay attention to the time slipping through my fingers. I was anxious about how time quickly was passing, how I knew not sleeping enough meant I wouldn’t remember any of this. All I wanted was for time to stop for just a little bit, so I could focus on the life unfolding in front of me (and catch a nap).
Then, one day when Emme was about two weeks old, my husband showed me this photo of me in the hospital, after delivering Emme.
It reminded me of how I felt climbing up on a chair to take my first photo of Emme, wrapped in a swaddle and laid in her bassinet. It is the one moment I really remember vividly. The one moment where time stood still in a very blurry 48 hrs. It gave me a breath to think.
So, I decided to pick up my camera again to photograph tiny Emme in a tiny Penn State onesie that day. And I caught my breath again.
Looking through the viewfinder and slowly composing my image grounded me and made me remember: I HAVE A BABY AND LOOK HOW MAGICAL SHE IS.
My camera became a new kind of tool for me that day. I picked it up again, and again, and again, whenever I felt like I needed to find solid ground.
Now I use photography to keep me grounded in the present. Photography allows me to capture sweet moments, sure, but looking through that viewfinder also forces me to pause and really look at what is happening in front of me. It helps me find gratitude and appreciate this life I am so lucky to be living.
If you knew exactly what to do when you picked up your camera, what kinds of moments would you capture?
If you want to learn how to look through your viewfinder without feeling overwhelmed by the buttons and settings, click the button to learn about my course. It might just be the perfect fit for you. Join our community of over 75 moms who have decided to conquer manual mode and start creating their family’s visual legacy with confidence.
you got this!
so tell me
Have you seen those beautiful, large, black and white portraits of children on Pinterest, or maybe in a friend’s home?
In this workshop I walk you through how to take, edit, and print your own simple portraits at home. The skills from this workshop can be applied to make portraits on a simple background, or any background!
I hold your hand through selecting the right space and materials, choosing your preferred camera settings (even if you know nothing about manual mode), tips for cooperation, the ins and outs of editing, and even suggestions for how and where to print and find frames! You can use a phone or “real” camera for this as I walk through both! This is a perfect starting point if you’re looking for something to kick-start your photography practice.
1:1 (virtual) DIY Product Photos Workshop
Are you a Lil' embarrassed by your current product photos?
Do you feel frustrated when you try to sit down and capture photos that accurately depict the amazing product you've created?
hey, fellow biz owner!
If you own a small business, you know how important it is to have beautiful, consistent, and accurate imagery for your marketing channels. Product photos are often the first and sometimes last impression you can make on a customer.
But creating a perfect product photo is no easy task. Once you work with me, you’ll unlock photography secrets that will transform your approach and leave you with a collection of beautiful product photos to share in every corner of your business. I’m talking a video call where we enter the trenches together and I walk you through your space, materials, and camera to nail the perfect routine down for you! See what’s included below.
1
questionnaire
A comprehensive questionnaire that helps us nail down what you’re working with and what your goals are.
2
Video Call
A 1:1 hour long video call where I teach you exactly what to do to master your product photos, which you walk away with the actual photos from.
3
Custom Editing Tutorial
A custom walk-through recording of me editing your images in Adobe Lightroom. PLUS a custom Adobe LR preset file so you can edit all your future product photos with confidence!
4
PDF Instructions booklet
A 15 page PDF review of our time together including what settings to use, how to make changes when necessary, and more!
Got questions?
FIll out this contact form and I’ll be in touch soon!