Taking a picture of your pet can be difficult. Here are a few tricks and ideas on how to get the best shot of your furry friend.

1. Be prepared and patient. It might be hard at first, but keep persevering. The good thing about digital cameras is that you can take several shots, and the more you take, the more you’ll be able to choose from later. Bring treats and toys to help get your pet’s attention.

2. Take the shot from their eye level. You might have to sit or lie down to take the photo from their eye level, but the beautiful photos you’ll get will be worth it.

3. Let them be the center of attention. Photos look better when they are filled with only your pet. Get close to your dog or cat, or use the zoom function on your camera to let them fill the frame.

4. Minimize red eye. I always have this problem when photographing my bunny or my dog. To prevent red eye from happening, use natural light or turn off the flash function on your camera.

5. For more information, check out, “Learn How to Take Great Photos of Your Dog” by Sarah Dawn. For a video on how to get them in the right position see, “How to Take Your Dog’s Picture” by Eric Letendre.

After you’ve got the best shot, show it off with one of these adorable Photo Dog Announcements from Tiny Prints.

Want a sweet, fun and unique way to hang up all of those baby announcements and holiday photo cards? While decluttering my home I discovered a way to display everyone’s beautiful pictures by hanging them up with miniature clothespins.

To do this, YOU’LL NEED: 2 thumbtacks, string, scissors, photos or photo cards, mini clothespins

• Choose your photos and/or photo cards.
• Depending on the number of cards and photos you have, estimate how much space you will need between the thumbtacks, and then use that to determine how much string to cut.
• After you have placed the thumbtacks in the wall, tie the ends of the string on each side.
• Lastly, hang up your photos and cards up with the miniature clothespins.

Do you often forget people’s birthdays?

In honor of my birthday and everyone else whose birthday is today, Happy Birthday! Here’s a list of things you can do so you won’t forget anymore birthdays this year.

1) Google Birthdays. Google has a feature that allows you to add a birthdays section to your home page. The service is free and an easy reminder since you’ll see it as soon as you open up your Google personal page.

2) Yahoo Calendar. Like Google, you can add in special dates to your online calendar for free.

3) Organize your greeting cards. Get a stylish organizer to organize cards for friends and family. The one I had from GfDG Studio is great since it has monthly tabs with space to write their names.

4) Check out RealSimple.com for more great ideas to save you from forgetting another birthday!