Members Unite: An Opportunity to Give

I've always liked to give, and I consider myself a generous person. But when it comes to charities and giving in a bigger way than just helping out a friend or "paying it forward", I've always been a little lost. We aren't part of a church, which would be my first priority as far as giving goes. So when The Clever Girls introduced me to Members Unite, I was intrigued. I checked out their website, and instantly knew that this was something I could get into.

With a small donation (or heck, you can even donate a lot if you have the means and the desire) you are able to view many different "projects" that are vying for funding each month. You can rate them and vote on which one you think is the most worthy cause. Then at the end of each month, one project is chosen to receive that month's donated money. I loved reading all about the month's potential projects, and really had a hard time deciding which would be most deserving! I also loved seeing how many people were pooling together and how much money we've all pitched in. It really makes me feel like a part of a team. I have never given in this sort of capacity before, and let me tell you.....it's already rewarding! I feel like I'm really a part of these projects that will receive this money.

I want Elliott to grow up knowing what giving and generosity look like. We don't have much, but we can be generous with what we do have. I learned that lesson a long time ago, and I try to practice it in my everyday life.....if I see a friend is having a rough day, I might buy them a warm drink to cheer them up. Or if the mom of four at the grocery store is visibly struggling, I might help wrangle her kids for her or at the very least hold the door open as she leaves. These are things that Elliott can see in our everyday life, and I hope that she learns from my example. This is why I hope to continue giving to Members Unite as Ellie grows. I can see us sitting down and voting for our favorite campaign together very soon! I think the time spent explaining the projects to her, showing her the pictures, and choosing our favorite will serve as both quality time and prime example-setting when it comes to giving. For now, Elliott loved looking at the main voting  page of Members Unite, since I don't usually let her sit at the computer ;) It was a fun time of chatting, even if she's a little too young to fully grasp what we were doing. I love hearing her repeat words like "give" and "help", even if her small hands and tiny feet are a few years away from physically helping anyone. I would rather instill these ideals and principles in her now!

Do you want to start giving, but don't know where to start? I encourage you to check out Members Unite. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all. For a limited time, Members Unite is offering my community a 50% off discount on the annual membership fee of $25! Use code “WELOVEMOMS” when you sign up!

If you do decide to give through Members Unite, I want to hear about it! Leave me a comment or send me a quick e-mail. I'd love to know who else I'm giving with ;)

HELP!

Scott was so thoughtful for my birthday and bought me Photoshop CS5.

I was floored because I didn't expect to be able to afford this amazing piece of software for quite some time (and yes, he pretty much made up for Mother's Day by surprising me with this).

I have a lot on my plate right now: work, summer vacations/activities, Etsy orders, potty-training, being a momma and a wife, and now my newest hobby of photography.

I really do thrive when I have a lot on my plate, but right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I think part of it stems from the fact that I'm so new to a lot of this that I don't even know where to start!

With Etsy I've just kind of muddled my way through, and I think, slowly but surely, I'm figuring it out.

I know it will never be my main source of income, but it is so fun that I really want to stick with it. I'm having a blast making special orders for people, and just being creative and thinking up new stuff to sell!

(If you want to visit my shop, click here)

With photography and photo editing, though, I just don't even know where to start! My dad is helping me with the principles and science and mathematics behind the camera, and I try to put those principles into practice every day.

But by the time I finish the day and get some photo-taking in, I'm too exhausted to try and figure out Photoshop!

Like I've said before, I want my pictures to speak for themselves.

However, I know how powerful Photoshop is, and I would love to use it to the best of it's abilities....even if I'm just making minor touch-ups.

So this is where you come in.....if you use Photoshop at all, please leave me a comment and/or shoot me an email (uwmomma at gmail dot com) answering one (or all) of the following, and include anything else that could help me learn about the program:

~What's the first thing you do when you open up a photo in Photoshop?

~What tools do you find yourself using most often?

~Any "secret weapons" regarding Photoshop that you would care to share?

~What free or cheap online tutorials have you found to be helpful for learning all that Photoshop has to offer?

I seriously appreciate any feedback!

It's quite intimidating, and I just need to know where to start :)

My first Photoshop edit....and linking up for Show Off Your Shot at And Then, She Snapped.

  
I have dabbled with Photoshop this week, just to try it out a little.

Here's a before and after of one of my new favorites of Ellie.

I did some very minor touch-ups, as you can see:

Thanks in advance for your help! And, can we get a vote today?!

Here's the Deal....

I just donated to the American Red Cross to aid in their efforts in Japan. In the process, I was entered to win one of nine awesome prizes!! You want to know how you can donate money? Or how you can have a chance to win a handmade headband, necklace, custom blog header or some other amazing prize?!

Click here to visit Jill's blog, The Chronicles of Corbin. She's an amazing gal who has a big heart. Once you're there, read about her niece's story here. I'm sure it will be enough to make you want to click here to find out how you can donate money and possibly even win a cool prize! I'm sorry, that's a lot of clicking, but I want you to see that this is such a worthy cause and an easy thing you can do to help those struggling in Japan!

Please head over there and donate and enter the giveaway.....it's just a minimum of $5 and takes only a few minutes! Also, you don't have to have a blog to donate or enter the giveaway!! Simply follow the directions on Jill's blog, and you'll be on your way to helping Japan, and possibly winning something pretty special for yourself!!

Do it!

Now :)

~Amanda