Lucrecer Braxton » Photography. Video. Storytelling.

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On the Road with SoFabU - Cincinnati

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We don’t have a lot of social media conferences in Cincinnati, so when one comes to town, I know I have to go. I love connecting with my friends and meeting new people from the area. This year, Social Fabric University is hosting events around the country providing Social Fabric and Collective Bias members with online influencer educational opportunities. The events are sponsored by Johnny Rockets, Müller, Kraft and iBlog and from what I have heard, SoFabU has been great so far! April 25, they will be in Cincinnati at Ahalogy.

One of the speakers, Joe Robb and I spoke on a panel a few years ago. He is the Digital Marketing Director at SparkPeople.com and a dynamic speaker. His keynote will focus on growing blog traffic with less effort. Attendees will walk away with a solid understanding of how to pair analytics data (Google, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook) with common, free publishing tools to grow their audience with data-driven processes. I am looking forward to learning how I can increase my site traffic without increasing the amount of time I dedicate to social media.

Nate Engels will lead attendees on an adventure of creating a custom recipe around a brand’s product and how he tells a story around a recipe that draws readers into his blog post. Nate runs a beautiful food blog called Wannabite. I heard Nate speak last year about how he grew his readership quickly in less than a year. The knowledge he dropped that day was invaluable and I implemented many of his techniques on my own blogs. During The Afternoon Adventures, Nate will show how he takes beautiful photos with and without natural light and manipulates the images to spotlight the food. He will also share how to make so-so photos into WOW!

If one of the Social Fabric University events is coming to your city, consider attending. The best thing about social media is the social aspect of it. Meeting people in person and learning for brand experts is the best way to grow your online presence. If you are in the Cincinnati area, I hope to see you there!

Disclaimer: I am writing this post in exchange for a discounted conference ticket; however, all opinions are mine and mine alone.

 

Peppermint Green Tea Sugar Scrub

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Finally, I am starting to see signs of Spring and the weather was absolutely amazing today. It was so nice outside, my girls and I decided to make a little something. I received my set of essential oils last week and I knew exactly what we were going to make first. Since it is almost time to break out the cute sandals, that means it is time to get our Winter weary feet and toes in tip top shape.

I have always liked sugar scrubs and after making my own, I don’t think I will ever buy them from the store again. Everything in my scrub came from my kitchen and my version costs a lot less than more expensive brands on the market. I have been making my own hair products for years and I love being able to add sugar scrubs to my beauty products. I love customizing the scents with my essential oils kit and the scrubs make wonderful gifts for my family, friends and co-workers.

In honor of the beautiful weather we are starting to see, I wanted to share my minty sugar scrub with you.

Peppermint Sugar Scrub

1/3 C Unrefined Coconut Oil

3-5 drops of food coloring

1 C of Sugar

10 Drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

½ tsp of Matcha Green Tea

½ tsp of Peppermint Tea Leaves

Mix the coconut oil and food coloring together in a medium sized bowl. Add the sugar, peppermint essential oil, green tea and peppermint tea leaves to the bowl. Stir or mix with your hands until all ingredients are combined. Store in a container with a lid.

To use: Scoop a spoonful into your hands and rub into damp skin. Rinse and enjoy your softer skin.

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Don’t Die in the Winter: Hold on, Spring is Coming

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This Winter has been brutal on so many fronts and this year, I have not enjoyed the season much. There has not been a lot of sunshine and when it does come out, I am stuck in a building in artificial light unable to reap the benefits of natural light on my skin. I will be glad when it warms up and I can get back to walking on a regular basis. There is no substitute for fresh air and the sun shining on your head.

A few years ago, one of my ministers suggested I read a book called Don’t Die in the Winter: Your Season is Coming by Dr. Millicent Hunter. The book has a powerful message that was right on time for me. In a nutshell, the message of the book helps you discern spiritual weather conditions and helps you prepare to deal with them. We have to endure the winter so we can make it to the blessings of Spring.

When I find some of my challenges almost too much to deal with, I am reminded of the message of this book. I see evidence of change coming when I look at the buds on the trees and I smell beginnings of Spring.

If you are going through something, my friend, hold on and don’t give up. Spring is coming.

On a Quest to Shoot Every Damn Day

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If you joined in the photography challenge last month, I hope you enjoyed it. I know I did and it was an honor to see many of you grow and love your work in the process. Because of you, I created a dedicated site where the photography challenges will live.

I will be hosting them over at Shoot Every Damn Day moving forward. You can share your images on Instagram and include the hashtag #ShootEveryDamnDay so I can find your pictures. If you are not on Instagram, there is a Facebook group and you can share your images there.

February 2015 #ShootEveryDamnDay photo-a-day prompts (1)

Remember, we are not going for perfection here. Instead, we are learning to love the extraordinary ordinary of our lives through our photographs. Each picture you take tells a story about who you are, what you believe in and what you love. That is my hope as we go on this journey together.

Oh, Lucrecer.com is not going away. Instead, it is evolving into being more of who I am evolving into and I will share that in the coming weeks. For now, join the photo challenge if you like and embrace your awesome like a boss!

MakerSpace: A Place to Create & Collaborate

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Saturday, January 24, The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County invited bloggers to an exclusive sneak peek of their new “makers” space. I took my children with me to check out the 3D printers, hi-tech sewing machines, engravers, green screen space and audio recording room.

All of this is FREE to the entire community.

I thought my son would be most excited by the 3D printers. I was wrong. He went into the recording booth and was fascinated by all the equipment because it reminded him of the tools some of his favorite YouTubers use. He told me we have to come back so he can learn to use it.

My children were some of the first to try out the 3D Doodlers and it was great to see the other children at the event sit at that table playing with the doodle pens for most of the event. My oldest girl was impressed with the engraver and is already designing a few things she would like to make.

The MakerSpace, located on the second floor of the downtown branch, opens officially today to the public. There is a mini maker space for younger kids that includes a robot that paints with watercolor and another robot that draws designs on ping-pong balls. There was also a few button machines and my second daughter would have sat there all day making buttons if I allowed her to.

I am very excited to see the Library create this space for all the makers in my community. There have been many times I needed a banner or a few buttons for an event and minimum quantities were way more than what I would ever need. Now, I can schedule time to use the equipment the Library provides to create just what I need. This is definitely the wave of the future. Spaces where the community can come together and collaborate is always a good thing. I am glad to see it in mine.