Resources: Green Chair is from local vintage resale shop. She is wearing a Handmade Tutu, from my oh-so-talented Mother-in-Law! I will have to ask if she can do a tutorial on it sometime (or perhaps she will make them for her etsy shop in the future!). Renee (my MIL) sews costumes for the ballet in Washington. How neat is that?? I feel very special that Baby O’s tutu is so professional…

Resources: Her shirt is just a plain long-sleeved white onesie from Target (I think it is “Gerber” brand). I then sewed on some simple white lace, to make two layers of ruffles. I used some scrap pink fabric to make a “yo-yo” (tutorial here) for decoration. Silver ballet slippers are from Babies-R-Us. The banner was made by me, using Heather Bailey fabrics. The sticks…I just love. They are my favorite funny props to have lying around the house. Baby O loves to play with them too.

She had just woken up for a nap and was a wee-bit groggy…I think her funny spacey face is cute. She was eating pretty much the entire time I was taking these pictures.

Below: She’s doing her “Yesss” movement with her arm (she makes a fist and pulls her elbow down as if to say, “Yesss”), usually when she’s eating something she likes…

I hope to do a post about Photo Valentines soon as well. Here is a little sneak peek…

Hope you’re having a lovely Friday! I hear it’s supposed to rain here this weekend…A perfect excuse to work on some projects for the home…Oh dining room walls…Look out, you’re days of being orange are numbered!

XOXO

Are there any other “Napoleon Dynamite” fans out there? I loved that movie. If you’ve seen it, I know this is a tad obscure, but there’s a part at the end when the older brother is getting married and he sings a song to his Bride. He’s a bit of a tech-geek (is that PC?) and he sings, “Yes, I love techology…But, not as much as you, you see…”. I love that line and I sometimes, very goofily (hm, now I’m pretty sure that isn’t a real word) sing to my husband & kid, “Yes, I love photography…But, not as much as you, you see…”. Insight into my nerdiness. Anyway, I was packing for a photoshoot earlier this week, and my little helper appeared out of nowhere and demonstrated that she can in fact fit perfectly in my camera bag, in the partitioned part meant for my camera. She sat there happily playing and picked up my 50mm lens and held it gingerly and oh-so-happily. I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe, she will make an awesome photographer one day. Then she too can hum my nerdy lyrics.

So, I’m listening to the “She & Him” Holiday CD and loving it! Hope you’re finding ways to be in a festive spirit, and opportunities to surround yourself with friends & family.

{Happy Holidays!}

I wanted to do this post as a how-to in case readers are interested in the food/decorations/theme – aspect of the party, as well as how to keep things budget-friendly. So, here it goes…I’ll try to give price & source information where I can.

Invitations:

Sources:

Completely inspired by this lady’s invites here.

Materials: A2 white paper from PaperSource ($3.25/25, left-over from our wedding invitations!), Scraps of Lecien “Flower Sugar Yellow Tiny Flower Dots” fabric ($2.50 /quarter yard), found here.

Note: If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can use fabricTac glue to adhere the fabric scraps to the invite. You can also experiment with scrapbooking paper in lieu of the fabric. I love the look of mixing patterns (rather than using only one) too.

Kids’ Activities:

Sources:

Sidewalk Chalk ($2.50/pack at Target), Bubbles (left over from our wedding), Handmade “Vintage Coloring Books”* printed on cardstock paper & tied with ribbon from craft store ($2.50/3 yards)

*(Note: Since this was just for personal use, I did a google image search for “Vintage Coloring Books” and “Vintage Coloring Book Pages” and copied ones that looked appropriate and were large enough to print to about 3″x4″. If you are reading this and have any questions, feel free to ask.)

Food & Decorations:

Sources: My amazingly cool, vintage picnic basket was purchased here, for $15.

These adorable stripey straws were purchased here, at $4/25 straws. There are so many colors to choose from!

The pink & white gingham fabric was purchased from JoAnn’s Fabric, on sale for $3.50/yard. I purchased 6 yards, in order to cover two tables. It is a very common print, and you can also purchase something similar online here.

Mmm…Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing…Oh, how I loved you!!

I was visually inspired by this cupcake, but didn’t want a jam-filling. So, the cupcake recipe I used was c/o Martha Stewart. It was my first time to make cupcakes from scratch and, I’ve gotta say, I may never use a box mix again…This was easy (the instructions were fool-proof) and I felt oddly proud of myself for making it from scratch, even though it took little know-how.

My Mom helped me with the icing…{1/2 cup shortening + 1/2 cup margarine + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar}. I made it the night before and kept it in the fridge, in the mixing bowl. The day of, we added some whole milk until it was at the desired consistency. Then, I followed this lady’s cute instructions on icing. I think mine could stand to be cuter, but perhaps it will just take a little practice! Either way, they were deeelicious!!

By the way, the tiny pink and yellow sugar cookies were from my Little Sister. They were amazing! And adorable!

Sources:

Pink Floral Vintage Hankies (above): $2.50/each from this shop

Sources:

Tissue-Paper Pom-Poms are an excellent (easy + affordable!) party decoration! I followed the tutorial here.

I purchased 4 packs of (12 sheets each) colored tissue paper from the craft store, for $2.50/pack.

And, I WISH I had better photos of the food, but it was the last thing on my mind, come party time! I tried to get some photos of the leftovers….

“Caprese Kabobs” were a big hit! To make, simply toss mozzarella & tomatoes in a plastic ziplock bag, with olive oil and chopped fresh basil. You can leave it in the fridge overnight, to season. Or you can go ahead and thread them on the skewers the night before, and leave them in the fridge, assembled. Also, note: I wanted really cute little skewers, but we ended up cutting normal wooden skewers in half and this worked just fine.

Sources:

The wooden basket, above, was from the Target $1 bin, but you can find similar ones online.

Mmm, “Pigs-in-a-Blanket” are one of my Husband’s favorites! We made them with turkey “Lil Smokies” and Crescent Roll dough. Very simple, and a crowd-pleaser.

(Vintage sheets from my Mom and etsy. The best thing about them? They can be cut up and used for tons of craft projects after the party!)

Pink Lemonade…I used the 8oz mason Ball jars, that you can find at most grocery stores or Target/Walmart. This was a cute idea, and a big hit with the guests. I simply used this concentrate, from Minute Maid (below) and put a slice of fresh lemon in. I had all of the filled jars in this aluminum tub, filled with ice. Too bad I didn’t get a “before” photo, but you can see that they certainly didn’t go to waste!

Sources:

Aluminum Ice Tub from Target. I’m a tad embarrassed to say that it was about $20 (I was frugal everywhere else, but for some reason, felt this was a good place to splurge!). Hopefully I’ll find good ways to reuse this.

And, finally, some cute Party Photos!…

This was funny…You know how you have a certain idea in mind how important events will go, like when your daughter eats her first piece of Birthday cake, and you’re there with your camera in hand and everyone is ooing and ahing over how cute and funny she is? Well, I was so caught up visiting that I was no where near my camera at the time. She crawled over to this blanket, where some of her friends had been sitting, and started eating a cupcake off of their plate. She looked like a curious little scavenger….

So, we moved her to her own blanket and gave her her own cupcake, to “re-inact” her first bite, where all of the relatives could watch…

And then, she mostly just wanted the giant red strawberry on top…

Wow, what a cutie. And, lastly….

Party Favors:

My sweet friends came over to help me assemble these, bags filled with oatmeal cookies (with my Grandma’s cookie recipe attached)….

Sources:

Brown Bags from Michael’s Craft Store (a few dollars for a pack of 25), Hole Punch, Yellow Ribbon ($2.50/3 yards) & Fabric cut into strips when I ran out of ribbon (this is actually much more economical, and still looks cute), Free Download of Recipe Cards printed on white cardstock, & yummy homemade goodies, such as these oatmeal cookies, to put inside.

Want the Oatmeal Cookie recipe? Just leave a comment if you do, and I’ll try to post it here soon.

Have a great week!!

And then I came across this ADORABLE DIY plushie creature (is it a cloud perhaps?) perfect for Baby O and {Bonus!} seemingly well within my somewhat limited sewing skill-set. In fact, I love this lady’s blog, and her apparent interest in using repurposed materials. I set out to make my own plushie creature pronto…

…And this is what I ended up with…

Kinda cute! I want to make a dozen more. Here is more or less what Baby O thought about it (at first anyway)…

I’m glad to say she now plays with it quite a bit. She seems to enjoy “studying” the different ribbons. She seems to like the big red one the best…kind of cute! If you have a little one at home, you might want to try this project out when (/if?) you have some relaxing downtime. It was quick and rewarding. Again, the tutorial is here.

Well, that’s all for now…{Happy Monday!!}

I subscribe to a lady who creates these Gap/OldNavy/Piperlime inspiration boards specifically for photographers. They are really clever and so terribly useful! However, I think it’s awesome to dress it up with unique pieces that fit your style. I love recommending Etsy for purchasing handmade. This month I thought it would be fun to throw out a few ideas for actually making some clothing or accessories yourself! Maybe you can pick one of the tutorials I’ve listed and try something that suits your skill level and interest. Fashion something special by hand that will help make your Family Photo or Children’s Photos even more memorable. This may appeal to some of you more than others, but here it goes…

1.) For Mom’s Outfit, consider “re-purposing” an old t-shirt and pairing it with jeans and a cardigan. This one comes with an awesome tutorial. I’ve yet to try it myself (Okay, I’m a little intimidated!), but honestly you can do very simple tricks to get a different ruffle look. This technique could be done to decorate one of your shirts! Momma’s gotta have fun too, right?

2.) I believe the tutorial for this dress & ruffle cardigan combo (love the ruffle!) says “Intermediate” level. Basically, it is waay out of my league, but it really, really makes me smile, so I’ve included it here. I think you could find some similar styles out and about. (Check out the darling striped leggings!) IF you happen to be savvy with the sewing machine, you should really check this tutorial out. And this whole blog altogether. This crafting sister-duo is truly inspiring.

3.) I really enjoy this lady’s tutorial for rosette headbands. I used it when making the headband for my Sister’s Baby Shower, as well as for a Bride-to-Be in an Engagement Session (photos not posted yet). It is so straight forward and simple! If you have a daughter, and want to accessorize, I urge you to check it out! AND if you sew, she has some very clever ideas for repurposing your shirts into dresses for your little girl.

4.) I fell a bit behind on the guys’ ideas because all of my ideas today, for some reason, are centered around bowties or neckties (not that they’re intended to go with these particular shirt + shorts combos of course). There are so many great tutorials on the web for them. I think MAYBE I will try to make my husband a tie at some point. I laugh already thinking about how wonky it might be, and imagining him wearing it any way because he’s so sweet like that. Anyway, these ties would be so fun for little boys too.

Lastly I want to feature a quick shot of handmade sister/brother sets I came across on Etsy the other day. These are by etsy seller, Little Boats. This would be quite cute for a family portrait, or just a portrait of the kids together…There seem to be several etsy shops making sets like this, and they might even take special requests!

Schedule your Children’s/Family Photo early, in order to have photos in time for Holiday Cards!

{Have a Great Day!}

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making a ruffle-bottom onesie since, well, basically the moment I found out we were having a girl! (I know, kind of dorky, but that’s me!!) Anyway, I didn’t know the first thing about using my sewing machine until I took a class, “How to use your sewing machine”, late in my pregnancy. Soo, these ruffles weren’t perfect by any means, but it was soo fun to try! I ordered fabric online from Heather Bailey and, when it arrived, it was so darn cute I had to make a scalloped bunting banner to go in O’s nursery as well! I’ll post the handmade pattern for that later, if anyone is interested. For now, here were my supplies…

Supplies: Blank onesie from Target, Fabric Scissors, Needle & Thread (+ Basic Sewing Machine w/ White Thread in it), Fun Fabric for the Ruffles, and, in a stroke of scissor-happy-ness creativity I cut up a Newborn-Sized Pink Onesie in order to sew ruffles on to her collar.

For the ruffle-bottom I followed the awesome step-by-step instructions from this lady’s post: Ruffle-Butt Onesie Tutorial. If you do go check it out, you’ll see that she gives three options – I followed the third of the three (since I have neither a serger nor pinking shears!). It was pretty straight forward and fun!

Hello, Cuteness!!…

{Happy Monday!}

After a busy work week, my husband and I were so happy to load the baby and dogs in the car and head to my Sister & Brother-in-Law’s lakehouse for the weekend…What a nice break! My parents, younger sister, & 2 nephews were there as well! Unfortunately, Baby O wasn’t feeling well (she still isn’t, poor thing…But it will pass soon, I’m sure!), so we got to snuggle with her a lot…which is always nice! Here she is wearing her Easter dress, which is this really cute blue courderoy dress with yellow duckies on it…our neighbors gave her this dress, along with buckets of wonderful hand-me-downs from their girls! I loosely stitched on a yellow fabric flower for fun, and made a silly headband to match. {There are so many tutorials online for making fabric rosettes. If you’re interested in doing something similar, find a tutorial whose style you like, make a few flowers, cut leaves out of felt, and add a few feathers if you like. Use a good glue, like “Fabri-Tac”, or a needle and thread. Attach all pieces to the headband and then cut an oblong piece of soft felt or fleece and glue this (or sew this) to the bottom, to make it comfortable for Baby.}

We took Baby O for her first dip in the lake, we dyed eggs, had scrumptious meals, and ate way too much candy. It was a great weekend! I’m looking forward to getting some orders ready for clients this week, as well as doing some location scouting for upcoming shoots. Next weekend I have the pleasure of photographing both Amy & Kevin’s Wedding, and Kristi & Ryan’s Engagement Session!…Love is in the Air!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a full week ahead of you as well. Happy Monday!!

My Sister is so sweet & supportive. Here, she is helping me pose our newest little nephew for his newborn photo shoot (I’ll be posting some of those adorable photos soon too). And now, some Handmade Fun…

My Aunt gave me this beautiful brown dress for Baby O, back when she was a brand new baby…I remember thinking at the time that it seemed like it would be lightyears before she would be able to fit it! So, imagine my surprise when I went sifting through her closet this weekend and…voila! It fit perfectly! I was inspired to go back to my pile of felt and ribbon scraps and put together this little headband to match.

This little headband was really fun to put together. I plan to make several to go with different outfits. It’s probably pretty intuitive, from the photos, but if you want to know more about how they’re made, just let me know. 

Again, I’ll have to post some more photos soon! I’ve been a busy Mommy today!…

This past week we had our wonderful friends in town from Philadelphia, as well as my adorable Cousin, who is a Freshman at Duke (we’re so proud of her!). Just to be silly, I made her these “Strawberry Pins” because strawberries are one of the symbols for her new sorority and, well, I wanted to make something small and simple. I glued a pin to the back with Fabri-Tac, so that she can pin them to her bag. Another cute idea would be to glue magnets to the backs so she could put them on the mini-fridge in her dorm room…

Happy Monday.

This is by no means a new or novel idea, using patterned fabric in an embroidery hoop. It’s a really cute, simple, affordable way to decorate your child’s room with some color. I wanted to stitch on really simple things, sort of like little “love notes” to my little one, to hang above her crib. I’ve ordered a great print from painter, Katie Daisy, to go there as well (now that she’s nearly 5 months old, I’m finally getting around to hanging things on the nursery walls!).

Here is my first go at my “little love notes” hoop art series for O’s nursery…

Lastly, here is my funny little frame. I got this for a few dollars at Ross and it was sort of an ugly brown/pewter at the time. I spray-painted it glossy white and dug in my fabric scraps to make a little something that goes with O’s nursery (we have lots of owls and little birdies, trees, and forest animals throughout her room).

I have some great photos to share, from the past week’s photoshoots! I’ll post some sneak peeks soon!

{Happy Monday!}

My friend, Tammi, gave me a number of cute baby outfits before O was born AND a plain white onesie. She said it was for me to decorate…What a cool idea! Well, this weekend I finally got to it (though it’s still too big for Baby O to model). I googled some ideas and came across this lady’s tutorial. I see that she shares my excitement about gussying up our baby girls’ outfits! I really like her petal-collared onesie. Mine is, well, not quite as cool, but it’s my first attempt and I love it for that reason alone! It was also a really fun (and funny) experience trying to dye the white onesie! I used Rit “Teal” powdered dye and grabbed one of my husband’s plain white undershirts. I tossed the two items in the dye bath and…viola! It was all quite straightforward, however I see that I made a “rookie mistake” by not stirring enough during the dying process, so part of the onesie didn’t dye uniformly (unfortunately the spot is FRONT & CENTER) and resembles tie-dye! Haha…oh well. I proceeded to follow the RIT directions and threw the items in the washing machine and went on with my day. A while later I returned to the kitchen to find suds spilling out of the machine and pooring onto the kitchen floor. My second thought (first was, “Ack!!!!”) was too bad O isn’t old enough to appreciate how fun it would be to play in all of these bubbles. Seriously, there were more bubbles than you’ve ever seen! I had to poor salt on them to get them to go down enough so that I could clean up the mess. Anyway, I’m still baffled by what caused this. Once washed and dried, I cut the heart-shaped petals out of the undershirt and sewed them on to the onesie…Very fun (and quick!). Next time I may make smaller petals and space them out a bit more. It will be fun to play with the idea a few times. I’m thinking about Lemon Yellow next!…

Have a GREAT Monday!