Christmas Ornament DIY

It has come to my attention that I have severely neglected my blog lately.  I suppose I was trying to determine if this blog was to be purely my photography or updates about the family.  Since I haven't had too many clients lately, let's talk family.

We don't have a ton of money this year for Christmas presents.  Lucky for us, Ronan is only 14 months and wouldn't know the difference anyway.  But, as has happened to most of you, I've become hooked to pinterest.  Having no money and discovering pinterest = wonderful DIY crafts!  So for Christmas this year, I opted to make hand print ornaments from Ronan's hand.  I merged two ornament how tos and this is what I came up with. 

I bought the clear, plastic ornaments at Michael's for less than $1.  I used a sponge brush and acrylic paint on Ronan's hand.  I had originally bought stamp ink, but when I did a google search for handmade ornaments, it seemed that paint was always used.  The prints turned out surprisingly well for a one year old.  I let them dry overnight.  If there were any blotches, they were easily scratched off with a fingernail.  Then, I cut 1/2" strips of white card stock.  I wrapped the strips individually around a pencil and slid them into the ornament.  I used a little less than one square piece of cardstock for each ornament.  And on the back, I used a regular blue permanent marker to write his name and the year.  As a finishing touch, I looped some blue polka dot ribbon through the ring and tied a slip knot at the top.  Easy, peasy hanging.  Aside from drying time, 4 ornaments took less than an hour to assemble.  And there you have it: a nice, thoughtful, beautiful Christmas gift you can cherish forever! I might just do this every year to see how big his hand gets (until of course it doesn't fit anymore!).

Live a Life Less Ordinary

Spring does something to me, as I'm sure it does something to all of us.  One of my fondest memories of spring is spending the afternoon at the park below Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia.  It was such a peaceful time, studying and listening to music, while watching the ducks swim, the children run, and the flowers bloom.  My favorite band of all time is Carbon Leaf and Indian Summer has to be one of their best albums.  When "Life Less Ordinary" plays, whether it be on my Ipod or the radio, I am immediately brought back to those days where nothing really seemed to matter and time stood still.  It reminds me of my husband and all the wonderful, youthful days we spent together.  Everyone has memories that are extra special, and this time of year seems to bring back a lot of them for me.  Did I mention I love Spring?  I'll be enjoying this beautiful day outside with the little man.
Life Less Ordinary

Baby Fever

Yesterday, it was hot! Luckily, it was also sunny and breezy.  And one more thing, I got to meet Davis.   He is two weeks old and the lovely offspring of some friends of our's.  His mom is also a photographer, and she asked me to take some family shots of them since it's impossible for her to do it.  I have to admit; I was extremely intimidated.  She's been taking pictures for a long time.  But somehow, they turned out ok.  We got some beautiful shots inside, and then we went to a park near their home.  The park is home to a very large, red trolley car, and we took advantage of it!  I wanted to share some pics of the beautiful new babe, so here they are!  Enjoy.

My first session!

I have been dreading/anxious over this day for months.... my first photo session.  I knew it had to be with someone I was comfortable with because I was sure I would fumble and be so confused.  I was so lucky that Scotty's cousin is almost eight months pregnant and let me kidnap her and her husband for a couple hours in order to pose for me.  I warned them it could be bad, but it turned out sooo much better than I could have ever expected.  It also helps when you have two beautiful, laid-back, and genuinely fun people to shoot.  Thank you, SunHee and Andy.  You made my week!

Whiteout

This is our first winter in St. Louis, and we have quickly discovered that 1. It's bitterly cold, and 2. It seems to snow a lot.  I can't say that the weather out here is my favorite.  This summer, the heat index got up to 118 degrees.  It's like someone put Maine and Florida together to create a super weather state.  By super, I mean mega, imposing, not super nice.  Last week we got 11 inches of snow and piled on another 1 or 2 yesterday.  Little R and I hate that we can't go out for walks, but we recently discovered that the mall is a great way to get out of the house and exercise.  Unfortunately, the mall is also a great place to spend money.  Snow, please melt!

I am very much looking forward to thawing out and welcoming Spring.  I have this amazing camera that is not getting its full use because we're stuck inside.  I need to start rounding up some subjects other than little R and Scotty.  I can't wait!

Speaking of getting out of the house, some of our dear friends volunteered to play with our son for a few hours and allowed us to go to the movies.  What a nice feeling to relax and not worry about anything but having fun for a bit.  We are so grateful to be surrounded by such awesome friends.

My first camera

Photography has been my passion for a while now.  I always loved to capture candid moments, but it wasn't until I realized that I was able to capture some really beautiful moments that I started developing my skills. 

The first camera I ever remember using was an old Kodak Instamatic camera that my parents had.  I'm not sure where it came from or just how old it was, but I took it on a trip to see my great-grandmother in Tennessee, and I remember the thrill of going to the store to pick up the prints when they were ready.  It was such a neat feeling to know that something I thought was important had been captured forever.  

From the Instamatic, I moved on to Disposable Cameras.  In college, spending money on a camera wasn't something I was interested in doing, being poor and all.  But for Christmas one year, my then boyfriend, now husband, got me a Sony Cybershot.  I used the hell out of that thing.  It's still getting use from my best friend.  Once I retired that camera, I purchased a refurbished Kodak Easy Share.  It was the closest thing I had ever gotten to a professional camera.  It had so many cool features, not to mention that thing could zoom like crazy.  I self-shot my maternity photos, and when my son was born in October, I was able to take a lot of great pictures of him. 

Not too long ago, I confided in my husband that photography had become my passion.  I told him that one day, I'd like to start my own business.  How could there be any better way to make a living than by capturing the best moments in people's lives.  He must have had a sense that those were my intentions.  For my birthday, I received my second camera from him, but my very first DSLR camera.  It was a Canon Eos Rebel T2i.  He had been doing research since close to my birthday last year.  My husband knows me so well. 

I am beyond excited to start this new endeavor and start adding even better pictures to my portfolio.  While making photography a living is a ways off, I so look forward to everything that lies ahead.