Free Printable Gold Foil World Map download

Five days of giveaways are almost over! day one was the beautiful printable minimalist 2015 calendars, then it was the HUGE AND MASSIVE wedding photography giveaway  and then it was the modern marble computer desktop organizer and today is a gold foil map download! 

basically, i'm trying to organize your life, capture priceless memories, save you money, donate your money to amazing causes, and make your house beautiful all at the same time.

it's like Christmas in January really.  you're welcome. 

I created this golf foil map in photoshop while i was re-designing my marketing material with the new branding... and i thought what better person to give it to than YOU!  because honestly, sometimes we just need a little reminder that we are one tiny speck on this earth, and that maybe our problems aren't as big as we think they are, and maybe it would do us good to get out and and expand our horizons and gain a new perspective. 

also, side note, if you know me you know that I am in love  with public radio. today they were talking about how the ability to change your habits (ie- new years resolutions) are linked directly to the environment where you reside. For example, I'm trying to cut my starbucks habit, but the hardest time for me is right after i've dropped my kids off at school. i'm so used to stopping in at my local starbucks on the way home, dropping 5 bucks, and cozying up in my (now quiet) little warm car.  theoretically, if i was driving a different car, or taking a different route home (even past other starbucks) my success rate would be much higher. 

The moral of all of this is get out and change your environment. travel. move about the world. even if you cant fly across the world to a distant land, maybe just try and different route home for work. take the scenic route. if there are things in your life you are resolved to change (as so many of us have in this first month of the year) maybe you might just need a little reminder. maybe you need to just forget about that desktop organizer i gave away yesterday and put this gold foil world map on there instead.  our problems are small, the world is big, and lets change the things we want to change about it and ourselves. 

amen. 

(ps- download below, using code WORLDMAP )

free computer desktop organizer

To celebrate the launch of this new site, I'm doing 5 days of giveaways! Sunday was the beautiful minimalist desktop calendar, yesterday was the huge wedding photography giveaway , and today.... well... we're going to ring in the new year by getting organized. 

So, full disclosure- when i'm not photographing destination weddings, we're renovating our 1907 bungalow. And when I say 'we' i mean... WE. like, my husband and I. So in this whole process I've become obsessed with cararra marble (I mean, who isn't?) but we aren't quite there yet with the kitchen. So, if i can't have it in my kitchen, I might as well have it on my computer desktop, right? 

And thus, the new Desktop Organizer was born. also conveniently timed with my New Year's goal of KEEPING MY DESKTOP ORGANIZED. seriously, sometimes i'm so embarrassed by the rampant disregard for cleanliness. Yes, i know it slows down my computer**. but i know where everything is, I swear.   

second love? copper.  so that got included too.  It's weirdly starting to look a lot like my dream kitchen...

I've designed this desktop to meet my own workflow needs, but I realize everyone probably has different workflows. Heck, maybe you're not even a photographer. So I've created three different versions of this organizer- 1) with the labels and fully customizable PSD file 2) without labels 3) plain marble.  pick your poison. 

enter your email address and code DESKTOP_ORG for your free download. 

**hey peeps. did you know that having things on your desktop drastically slows your computer down? the oxymoronic thing, however, is that when you are actively working on a project, having the project located on your desktop is the fastest drive you can use. moral of the story? if you're working on a project actively, have it on your desktop. once your done with it, GET IT OUTA THERE! which is why i love the desktop organizer, it keeps my projects moving from the left side of the screen to the right side, motivating me to get my projects done so i get them cleared off the desktop, making my computer perform at more optimal speeds.  

The Beyond Workshop WEDDING GIVEAWAY!

My dear friends, I have been working like a mad woman to get this website done so I could launch this project. To my knowledge, nothing like this has ever been done before. 

my dear dear friends Nina and Wes approached me a few months ago to tell me about this photography workshop they were planning, that they named The Beyond Workshop. They feel passionate about giving back, and wanted to incorporate photography and service in one amazing trip to Nepal.  They dreamed up this amazing workshop, where ALL PROCEEDS (!!) would go to sponsor a family there, as well as work with orphaned children and help stop the rampant sex trafficking industry in Nepal. All proceeds. No one that is helping run this trip is taking any kind of payment... they just want to help photographers learn about photography while doing some massively good things for the world at the same time.  

Obviously, I was totally on board with the concept, and deeply wanted to go. To be totally honest, I've never attended a photography workshop before. I sort of thought, 'well, I already know how to photograph people. my portfolio is established. networking would be nice... but is it really worth it?' but with the beyond workshop, it's so much more than talking photography- it's about using your craft to do some good in the world.  It's about remembering that our industry isn't all about 'beauty' and 'looking good in this photograph so you can show other people how good you look'  it's about connecting on a deeper level to the world and actively making a difference.  

And then... I had the thought... why not take it a step further?  why not offer a massive discount in my wedding photography where every bit of payment from my clients goes to this workshop, and I don't take a profit either?   If you're going to be spending money on a wedding photographer anyway, wouldn't it feel good that every cent you've spent went to changing lives and doing good while at the same time getting heirloom quality photography of your event? 

And furthermore, I realize that film photography is a massive investment. It is out of reach for the large majority of people, and I know I miss out on photographing some really amazingly lovely people because of the price barrier. By donating my services for the price of the Beyond Workshop + travel, it puts my services in the budget range for many many many more people. 

so lets recap.

• Every cent you spend on wedding photography goes to sending me to Nepal for the Beyond Workshop, where we're sponsoring a family and working to improve the lives of young people in Nepal to beat the sex trafficking industry. I'm not taking a profit from photographing your wedding, and when I attend the Beyond Workshop, the organizers aren't taking a profit either.  We all just want to do as much good as we possibly can with any monetary resources and manpower that we have. 
• You will be getting FULL DAY COVERAGE of your event (and some surprise goodies along the way that i can't disclose right here, because... i mean... it's a surprise...) at LESS THAN HALF THE COST. less than half the cost. it's crazy.  I don't run 'sales' on my photography, so this is like a once in a lifetime thing.
• 5,300.00 is the total amount that is due. that is a 9,000.00 savings. I know. that is crazy. that is insane. I don't even know what to say to wrap my mind around those numbers. that amount goes to the beyond workshop as well as a flight to get me there to actually do the work. i've estimated the dollar amount for flights, but if there happens to be a bit extra then it will be donated to the organizations we are working with in Nepal.  in other words, you can feel confident that any extra expenditures i encounter while there (like if i want to buy a souvenir) will be covered by myself, and not the amount you have paid. I feel like that is only ethical. payment must be made in full, as the Beyond Workshop is quickly approaching! 
• I'm covering my expenses (minus travel if applicable) for your wedding and donating my services so that the feel-good-feeling is intact of knowing what you spend goes to Nepal and nothing else.  
• You'll receive a fine art print of Nepal when I return (hello himalayas!) 
• You'll be helping me become a better photographer (which can only mean good things for your wedding photography...am i right?), while doing some really great things for the world. 

OK! ARE YOU READY?!?!  here is what you need to do to enter. 

write me a letter/make me a video/or just let me know in some way who you are.  It doesn't matter to me if you are having the most lavish wedding known to man or a backyard pot luck with 3 of your closest friends. I want to hear about the two of you, and why you want the money you spend on wedding photography to also be used for good. that's it, that's all.  This isn't a social media ploy to get more followers or higher ranking or more publicity. I just want to give this massive discount and opportunity to a great couple so we can all be better humans in this crazy world we live in.  

However, if you DO feel so compelled, it would be awesome if you did share this with friends who you think might be interested... but only if you think that they would like saving a lot of money on their wedding and doing good things for other people at the same time, and getting heirloom quality photography of their wedding.

ENTRIES CLOSE JANUARY 20TH!!!!!  two weeks people... two weeks.  

I am SO looking forward to everyone's entries... 2015 is going to be a spectacular year! 

xoxoxo,

Lexia