I never found Facebook and other social networks addicting. The closest I got was Livejournal, purely for the overwhelming creative fannish community on there (Lord of the Rings! Supernatural!) But now that I have Instagram, I think I finally get it. It's addictive! I keep checking for updates, beautiful photos from creatives that I follow, inspiration and gossip. My iphone tab was worth simply for that app.

Inspired by emmadime's Insta-Discoveries (thanks Emma, I found many new creatives to follow after from your posts!) I decided to recommend you my favorite new instagram account: @NATURE. The awe-inspiring photos the account publishes (collected from various sources, all with full credit) are a daily highlight.

IMAGES (CLOCK-WISE, FROM TOP LEFT) | Ladybower Reservoir, England; Photography by ©Earthwatcher | Stunning Rice Terraces of Northeast of Vietnam; Photography by ©Sarawut Intarob | Somewhere in South Africa; Photography by ©Michael Poliza | Nice to meet you; Photography by ©Nikolai Zinoviev | Castle in Germany floating above the Clouds; Photography by ©Robin Holler | Deers in forest during autumn; Photography by ©Alex Saber

I'd like to say I am infallible, but unfortunately that's not true. Sometimes there are bad days, like today, and I need to take a deep breath and look at something beautiful like this view.

Take this as a life lesson: Do not papercut when angry. Because when you papercut when you're frustrated you can make a mistake on the very last cut when a papercut is all but finished. Very last, no joke. And then when you're angry and try to fix it you can rip the delicate paper. Because sometimes 12 hours of work can just end like that. With a beautiful and intricate papercut mocking you from the paper bin.

Deep breath.

And then you get hit with a power outage so you can't work and have nothing to do but go to bed. Sometimes there are days like that.

And then a beautiful photo like Kevin Russ's Foggy Forest Creek really helps.

Image | Bespoke Press

Yulia. By Tali Y.

I'm going to another happy photo shoot with Tali today. We're planning on location sets - first time I'll ever do one in Tel-Aviv. Tali already scouted locations. I still don't know what I'll wear, but I know I'll treat myself to iced coffee after:)

Tali Y.'s portraiture shop.

Time management is still not my strongest suit. I thought I managed my time yesterday well... until I looked up at the clock and it was 20:00 and I was only half done. What happened?! I feel like I'm wading through this milky fog of time perception; am I moving slower than everyone around me? Papercutting is hypnotic work, but I never noticed until I started setting daily deadlines.

Still, I'm being productive and having fun doing it. And looking at the picture above, it's what I feel like: dreaming & playing. Hooray for creativity!

Image credit:
Rus Anson | via Domesticetch

Yesterday my friend Tali, who's a professional photographer and artist invited me for cake. One thing led to another, we had my birthday photoshoot which we've been postponing since the date. So yeah, this is how I look aged 26 years. Wow, did not think I'd make it out of my awkward childhood intact. I'm still kind of gangly, skinny with a less-than-perfect posture, but that's what I have Tali's photographs for. Look what a difference a year makes! This is a portrait of a different Naomi from 25 years old me. For one thing, I've already started ticking off goals I've set myself. At last, the birthday photoshoot is now officially a tradition!

Looking at the photos, they came out a bit bridal, though it certainly wasn't on our minds taking the picture. Tali really liked the play of white on white, said it reminded her of my papercuts. We did a series in color in different outfits, and a series in black and white in just this ensemble. It was fun! We attempted to use props, like a marching drum, but I kept cracking up so it was a no-go. Too bad. Next photoshoot I want to use a giant red balloon. And wear shoes. We'll see.

In the picture:
Crinoline | Swank Underpinning
Necklace | Wild Thing
Deer Terrarium Ring | Woodland Belle
Tops | private collection

Today is my 25th birthday. I'm telling myself what people got done by age twenty-five 30 years ago is now done by age thirty-five. So I'm not behind, I'm just adjusting to the times. Because we live longer, see.

So, I went to get a professional makeup lesson. And even though I told myself I won't buy anything - I spent 400 ILS on products. I'm not confident I can recreate the look. I then met up with Tali who took my pictures. We've decided to open a photography shop on Etsy.com. Would you buy her artsy portraits? Below is a link to a sample of the photoshoot. Now you know how I look like:)



{click here for more pictures}