How Beary Cute!

I had to make sure I posted this one within the month of February and thankfully I got an extra day this year to be able to do that! ;)  These little bears are sure to steal your heart with their adorable smile and their red velvet insides.  (Click on image instructions below for a larger view or view PDF version here) 

Frosty the Cake Pop!

 

With it being January, I thought it'd be fitting for a winter themed cake pop.  I figured a snowman would be perfect for this time of year!  These cake pops was very easy and fun to make.  This version of Frosty is actually pretty similar to the real Frosty; if you leave him out in the sun for too long, he definitely will melt. 😊 (Click on image instructions below for a larger view or view PDF version here )

The Most Famous Reindeer of All

 

 

Rudolph the red nose reindeer had a very delicious nose!  Wait, that's not how the song goes, but that statement is true about this reindeer.  My mom made these adorable cake pops years ago, so I wanted to make them.  I actually brought these for a Christmas treat/cookie exchange.  They were so much fun to make and the spice cake mixed with the caramel candy melt was a scrumptious pairing.  I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you enjoy making these cute little reindeer! (Click on image instructions below for a larger view or  view PDF version here .)

Things are Getting Dicey Around Ear!

 

 

Sorry ,but I can't be stopped with the punny post titles.  These are some D20 earrings I made some for a couple of my friends!  I've seen these sold around at different craft vendors or online and thought I'd take a roll at it! :)  Instructions I created are below (click on image instructions below for a larger view or view PDF version here)

 

I've Been a Little Booked Lately....

Now in truth, this blog post title is true.  I have been busy lately, however it was too perfect of a pun not to use for this post.  I made this little book necklace for one of my dear friends.  Her favorite book is Les Miserables.  I've seen book necklaces that people have sold or made around the internet and loved the idea!  So I decided to take a whack at it and make one myself.  I was joyful with how it turned out and now you can try making one!  I've included the instructions I created below (click on image instructions below for a larger view or view PDF version here)

It's Pizza Time!

Well actually it's cake pop time, but they don't ever say that in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I made these little guys for my dear friend's daughter's birthday party.  As you probably guessed it, she LOVES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I made these based from Rosanna Pansino's youtube video which you can watch here; click to view video.  I did a few things differently though as you can see.  I only did the turtles and not the pizzas.  I also used a black edible marker to make their smiles instead of black frosting for time's sake.  All in all, they were fun to make.  Stay tuned for more cake pops on here, I've really been enjoying making them lately!

Welcome to the Updated Blog!

Welcome to my new blog!  Though this blog has been around for years, I've recently added a twist.  It used to be just a photography blog that I would only post to every now and then.  My goal is to try and do a new post once a week or at the very least every other week.  Over the years, I've gained interest in more hobbies from baking, to sewing, to jewelry making, to graphic design.  I would love to share these creations with you here!  Everything I make here will be photographed.  When I capture any food, I will also make sure to include the recipe.  I've incorporated Exodus 35:35 in my blog logo because I wouldn't be here or have the ability to do any of these things without Jesus in my life and I'm excited to craft for him.  Thank you so much for allowing me to share these creations with you!

 

We Work, You Enjoy

I went to a friend of mine, Salim's, office which is called "We Work" located in Charlotte, NC.  I snapped a few shots there for his website promotion of his business, Uroboros Mediations.  Sit back and enjoy the simple pleasures of his work space.

                          
   

Love is in the Air!

How appropriate for the month of February to do a blog post about a lovely proposal!  These are my friends, Chris and Mandy.  I did this little photo shoot after Chris proposed to his girlfriend, now fiancé of course! Chris planned out every little detail to the T; the amazing wall of balloons he created, the roses, the candles, the outfit, the music, the speech, the timing and as you can see, it paid off.  Congratulations Chris and Mandy and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to capture this wonderful string of moments. 

We're Delvin' into the Elven World!

This is my good friend, Jessica!  She is actually the DM of my DnD group that I've mentioned about in the previous post.  As you can see, we really wanted to delve into the fantasy and mystical world of Jessica's inner-elf!  My favorite type of shoot is conceptual.  I used to do a lot more of those when I was in college for all of our themed projects.  My goal for this year is to really capture and produce more of that sci-fi/fantasy and quite definitely nerdy notion that I enjoy so much. ;)

We're Rolling in the Dark!

Get it?  Because of the dice?  Alright, I'll stop.  You guys know I can't resist a good pun.  If you didn't know, I'm actually a part of a Dungeons & Dragons group!  These dice were for our DnD meeting the evening I shot this and I loved how they looked against the Jack-O-Lantern especially with Halloween only being a few weeks away.

So Fresh & So Clean

When I'm not doing photography, I also work part-time doing customer sales and marketing for a company called Maid Right.  I've been working on video tutorials for the cleaners there to use.  This is the first one I've done.  I'm really starting to enjoy doing some videography and hope to make more soon! :)

 Maid Right Mopping Training from Mary Beth Graafsma on Vimeo.

These 2 Make a Wonderful Pear!

Mmmm chocolate pear with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE desserts.  Nothing is ever too sweet or rich for me.  I shot this recently at an Elm St. Grill wine dinner and after it had been photographed, I definitely dove in!

These Earrings are A-mason-ing!

So, that was probably a horrible pun, but I'm desperate for blog post titles on this one.  I was playing around shooting earrings in an organic way.  What do ya think?

Season's Greetings!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I know that 2016 was a tough year for a lot of people.  For me personally, 2016 was sad because both my Grandmother and my dog passed away :(.  Though that was very hard, I can rest in knowing they are both living a pain free life and that I will see them again one day in Heaven, yes that's right I believe animals go to Heaven too.  God has never let me down and one thing to focus on in this life and in light of a new year is to change your perspective.  You can't always control what happens to you, but you can control your reaction and trusting that God will be there by your side through whatever you may be going through.  Now that I've hopefully given you just a bit of encouragement for the new year, here's some festive photos I took this past Christmas!