Miss Ruthanne Writes: June 2012

30.6.12

diy 4th of july bows

hey y'all! so today, while I was sitting in the theater watching movies, I decided to make some 4th of july hair bows. and then I decided to whip up a tutorial for each one for you guys! here they all are - I hope you enjoy!

xoxo, ruthanne

29.6.12

post wisdom teeth surgery.

waiting for my doom. yeah. d.o.o.m. it was horrid. but I got pretty new purple headphones that made it better. :)

so you know how they tell you, after they put the iv in, that they're gonna count backwards from 10? and then you'll allegedly be out? well. the IV was put into my arm. I had laughing gas being forced through my lungs, and I was out. I remember the dr. saying "i'm going to cou..." and john mayer singing something about not going to LA anymore....and i was out. snazzy, no? I was pretty stoked.

anyway. I got out of surgery and was a mess. I was bawling. so uncontrollably tearful.

and I was that way on the drive home too.

and when we got home.

and when I went to bed.

stupid meds. (i hate crying, fyi. if you know me, you know I do everything I can to avoid it.)

but this is what i'm doing today. I finally feel semi-good enough to be me.

and besides, any chance I get to make the babe a couple dresses from two vintage pillow cases and a vintage pattern, I'll take.

I've enjoyed a frozen strawberry lemonade from Jamie and cuddles with the kitten.

yesterday, I exchanged who knows how many funny pictures with miss beka. in case you were unaware, we do this daily.

oh, and she just sent me this, like two seconds ago. it's pretty rad to have her as your best friend.

anyway. I've drawn a bit. something I haven't done in a loooong time. that was nice.

and my nails are all pretty :) love pretty nails, don't you? :)

anyway. I have some dresses to make and some more pain meds to take.

happy friday! ♥

26.6.12

iphone photography: part one [my favorite apps]

snapseed

cost: $4.99

best use: general editing. I use it to spruce up average photos...with just a few swipes they go from blah to omg. I kid you not. I use this app more than any other photo editing one on my phone - so worth the five bucks. here's an example:

squaready

cost: free

use: "mounting" photos before uploading them to instagram. I love to use it for mounting a picture and adding text with the next app...

phonto

cost: free

use: for adding text to any photo! it's great. adjust size, color, font, position, thickness of font, etc.

frametastic

cost: free

use: creating framed multi-image images, like the one below.

fx photostudio

cost: $0.99

use: fantastic filters. the picture I posted in this post used the sonoma filter, which is my favorite. other great ones are atlantic beach, socorro, and sanibel. it also is a pretty good basic editor if you don't want to "splurge" on snapseed (though I highly recommend it)

photosynth

cost: free

uses: this is by far the best, and I mean the best panorama app around. it's not your average panoramic app though. instead of just scanning the area, you stand super still in one spot, and take multiple pictures that it stitches together for you. these images have been taken with photosynth.

this one I used the "auto crop" option - it crops it perfectly for you. this one hasn't been edited at all.

this picture is from alaska, and again, I uesd auto crop. This one has been edited with snapseed, though.

this one gives you a better idea of what the app does - this is a picture that hasn't been auto cropped. so you can see where I stopped taking pictures to stitch together. the one thing you have to be careful about is over exposing some of the pictures, because while the photo matches up, the colors wont, as you see on the left side of this one.

ps express

cost: free

use: truly the most basic of the basic editors I've shown you so far. free and easy.

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just as promised, here is the first installment of my iphone photography series. I will have more up later this week - some actual in-depth stuff on how I specifically edit my photos.

I'm off to get the ole' wisdom teeth out now - have a lovely day! :)

25.6.12

the weekend [& monday]

friday. my best friend is the coolest, isn't she?

saturday: cleaning. room is spotless and theater is ready for me to move in for a couple days. and thennnnn after cleaning I rewarded myself with this. a root beer float. yum much?

sunday was church and shopping. had a yummy salad at whole foods for lunch - so good!

I bought this pretty yellow Steve Madden purse at Tj Maxx - seriously, love that store. retail: $98 I got it for: $40 :)

and today I bought these gorgeous flats from target for $13. my goodness, probably the cutest shoes ever.

a few more things were purchased, but I'm pretty sure everyone following me on instagram is sick of my pictures..haha. hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

24.6.12

in t-minus two days I will no longer be wise.

okay, so maybe I'm being dramatic, but seriously.

I get my wisdom teeth out on tuesday. gross, right? even worse than that I'm not normal in the sense that none of the four are coming in at the same rate, so the one or two that are where normally all four are when they take em out, are the reason I have to have the other two removed by basically cutting through my jaw. yuck much?

anyway. I'm trying to be pleasant about it...fat chance, huh?

for those of you who've already gotten your wisdom teeth out, what do you suggest? I've been told eating a whole pineapple reduces swelling greatly....did it for you, if you tried it?

22.6.12

a lovely bit of happiness.

basically, this sums up my week.

gorgeous views, lovely weather, guitar playing, and great inspiration.

so I decided to share.

here's a little bit of happiness for you.

happy friday ♥

ps - within the next few weeks I'm going to be sharing my methods for iphone photos such as this one - keep an eye out!

21.6.12

dear girls: on confidence vs. vanity.

We all have that one trait that people commonly pick out in us.

Some of us are shy, some of us are quiet. some of us are bubbly, smiley, happy, etc, etc.

I've always been told my confidence is evident; that I carry myself in a way that says "I'm not afraid of the world and what it has to say."

You're probably asking why the heck I'm sitting here typing this for you to read if you choose to....but this post if for you girls.

You see, I'm discovering as a young woman in 2012, that true confidence is often mistaken for other things.

I think a lot of people take my confidence as me being cocky, full of myself, and big headed.

Some people take shyness as being rude and dumb.

Some people take loudness as attention seeking.

A while ago I had an encounter with someone who didn't like my confidence and told me I made others feel bad with my ability to believe I can do anything I want to.

I've been pondering this for some time now, wondering what I could say to someone if that ever was said to me again, and it's bound to happen.

I believe every woman should equip themselves with true confidence - not confidence in their ability to manipulate or persuade, but the kind of confidence that doesn't care what others have to say, isn't easily influenced by what is "cool" and "trendy", and doesn't measure their worth by what others think. Do you agree?

I'd like to think that's the kind of confidence I have. Of course, I'm not perfect, and never will be. But what fun is life if you're constantly comfortable with who you are? I think we should always be striving to become a better version of ourselves, growing in the Lord and His desires.

I don't remember exactly what I said to the person who told me my confidence was essentially offensive, but I do remember I didn't apologize for it. I wondered for a while if that was the right thing to do, and finally I am confident in my decision not to apologize. God's created every single one of us differently. We are all similar in one way or a thousand, but none of us are exactly alike. I won't ever apologize for who God made me to be.

This isn't to say that it's an excuse for bad behavior. If I were acting out and being intentionally rude, hurtful, and trying to tear others down, I would feel obligated to apologize.

So, this post is for all of you ladies.

Be confident in who you are and your ability to succeed with Christ. Don't ever apologize for who He made you to be. You are precious in His sight and lovely. He made you who You are. Shy, happy, quiet, bubbly, confident. You are not subject to the world and it's commands on women today.

Don't be afraid to dress yourself with confidence. Modesty is not "lame" - it shows your respect yourself and are confident in your ability to be beautiful without flaunting.

Don't be afraid to speak your mind. You may not always be politically correct or say things that are "socially acceptable", but you don't have to be. We learn from our mistakes.

Don't be afraid to make those mistakes, either! That doesn't mean go out and do stupid things, but when you fall, pick yourself up, apologize if necessary, and keep going. You're not perfect, and that's okay.

And lastly, don't be afraid to be confident in your beauty, worth, and loveliness. I'm not saying you should be vain. There is quite a difference. Vanity is having excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements. Confidence is the state of feeling certain about the truth of something.

So, have confidence in knowing you are beautiful because He made you that way. Know that you are lovely, and more precious than rubies, and never apologize for being who He created you to be.