For Christmas I endeavored to make a family calendar for Brandon & his parents for Christmas. I probably bit off more than I could chew, but I am VERY happy with how it all turned out. And relieved to be done with it and have it on my refrigerator to enjoy.
I did make one big mistake... and it kind of puts me in the dog house: I said my husband and his twin brother are turning 28 AGAIN this year. Really I think they should just take it as a compliment. :)
Cover:
January-December:
Back Cover:
I really hope it was something they enjoyed. I would love to do it each year, but I am not committing myself to that yet. Because I did this calendar, a photo book for the Linn side of the family, edited four photo shoots, and moved our family to a bigger home in December. And I'm 30 weeks along.
No, right now, I'm committing myself to a break. :)
I never thought this day would come so soon.
That I would upgrade my camera. Two years ago I began my journey. Well really
two years ago in April, when the idea of photography entered into my brain. Can
I be honest and tell you why I wanted to get into the DSLR world? I was
outraged by how much photos cost. Sitting fees? Printing costs? And the big
Photo release? All could easily add up to well over $100 and that’s maybe for
only 15-20 poses. I just couldn't justify those costs year after year. There had to be a better solution. So my search of cameras online began.
My first camera was worth the investment. It was the highest
grade, by any means, but it was exactly what I needed to learn. It provided me
with a hobby. Something I very much needed after leaving many of our friends in
Provo and no longer working as a Hall Advisor at BYU. Numerous trips were made
to the library and I began to understand more and more about my camera and
photo composition. Even more articles were read online.
Months turned into years and I have grown to love my camera.
I’ve grown to love photography. I love capturing those small moments so I can
hold onto them forever. I’ve discovered some areas of photography I love much
more than others. Child photography and portraits are easily my favorite.
Family sessions the most stressful. Newborns a challenge, but so rewarding.
Lifestyle photography is yet another that I want to continue to develop. If
only our apartment had better natural light!
Soon I started noticing the limitations of my camera. I
began to outgrow it.
But when it came time to sell it, I became suddenly
emotional. This camera had become more than a tool to me. But in some ways,
this camera had allowed me to express my inner self in ways I never thought
possible. And yes, I feel like a complete dork writing this out. But my camera
holds so many memories for me. It represents the beginning of my journey.
Needless to say I am so glad that it’s going to someone I
know. Somehow I feel more at peace knowing it will be cared for, appreciated,
and learned from again. And I hope their journey in photography will be as
positive as mine has been.
The search for a new camera was a big decision and I changed
my mind on a daily basis. But I ended with a semi-professional grade camera
that will also allow me to captured videos and photos of my boys. Increasing very much in quality of camera, I hope it lasts me for at least the next five years, if not longer.
While I have done photos for people in the past, my main
focus still is my boys. I want to remain a stay at home mom. I still get so
much anxiety when I take pictures for friends, and that’s not something I like
to inflict on myself on a regular basis. Maybe one day I can turn business
mode, when my kids are older. And when my stomach can handle it. But for now I
am just ready to experience my new journey that this camera holds. I hope I can
meet the challenge and grow. And I hope it will be just as rewarding.
I've never had a project I've worked on, this consistently take so long to complete. But it was completely worth it.
My first complex quilt!
With ideas from Pinterest, techniques from Youtube, help from my Relief Society President, and many other resources, I made this quilt for my newest niece, Georgia. They just received it so it's now safe for me to post pictures of the final product. Here's an excerpt from what I wrote in their card:
"It's not perfect. It took longer than I thought it would. And it took on a different design many times. But it has been pieced, pinned, sewn, and stitched with so much love. It served as a reminder to me that life isn't perfect, but love can be."
(A look at my new favorite technique, Hand Quilting. It is so worth the time, effort, and even the pain of being purposefully poked in the finger... over and over).
Special thanks to my dear husband who endured many evenings of sewing that lasted deep in to the night while the boys slept. And for even helping me press seams when I thought I couldn't press one more. Now maybe I can get to finishing that jean quilt I started for you last October... :)
We had a quick trip in February to visit Brandon's family in UT. I only took a couple of pictures. My sister-in-law said she was having a hard time getting her little Mariel to smile for pictures. So I offered to help.
I don't think I'm an expert, by any means. But I've found that if I can get a toddler to talk about the things they like, they tend to become more animated. Sometimes it's just waiting for them to warm up to you. For Mariel, she loved talking about princesses. When I took pictures of my nephew, I had to be silly. And I wore a Hulk mask so the Hulk could take the pictures. With Mason at the time, he LOVED Peek a boo. So I'd snap right once he took his hands away from his face.
Pay attention to how words end when the child says them. For example, words that end in 'Y' draw the mouth outwards. Like Candy, Silly, Mommy. Now say it in a funny voice and have them try to do it too. My nephew would say "Aaarrrrr" like a pirate, yet you'd have no idea from looking at the picture. (words may differ from with how each child talks, so watch their mouths as they talk).
Ryan's my analytical one. So I have to ask him how things work. That or tell him that "Charlie's hungry". If you ever saw the movie "Liar Liar", it's equivalent to "The Claw."
Really ANYTHINGbut asking them to "Smile." When I've done that, I get a forced expression that looks more like it's feeling pain than it is happiness.
Other times I think it's a GOOD thing when kids don't smile in photos. Childhood doesn't consist of a frozen smile on their face. There are frowns, furrowed bros, tongues sticking out, thoughts, sick days, and tears.
While I know those shouldn't dominate photo books, I still think they're important to record. Especially with how you can see that Lifestyle Photography is trending more and more (Something I'm very interested in developing more... like this picture of Aunt Susan with Mason)
So it might take more of an effort, but it will be worth it. Capture the moment. Capture their childhood. THEN capture the smile.
One day when taking out the garbage, I found a hopeful surprise sitting on the ground next to the nearest dumpster: a standing toy, just like one I was looking at getting Mason. So I brought it up to the house while the boys were sleeping, and replaced the corroded batteries. And it worked perfectly. I cleaned it and it was just like new, minus one thing:
The story board was completely worn down.
So on Christmas eve Mrs. Claus got out some scrapbook paper, scissors, and mod podge and went to work. I'm really happy with how it all turned out! And it was even better to see how much Mason LOVES this toy!
A new friend in my ward at church posted on her blog that she was doing a photo challenge (via Instagram) in November to show her gratitude. I've decided I'd like to do that too this month. What a fun, visual way to show my gratitude this month. Hopefully I can stick with it and I can post here every couple of days. Here's the list (I've got to catch up some):
Trying to work on my composition of eyes today. Here's my cute test subject for the day! Handsome Mason.
Love that rash? This boy eats so much "solid" food (I don't think jar food should be considered solid... more like mush) in a day that I don't know how to avoid him having a constant span of red dots atop that little chin. And I'm more concerned with eye practice today than editing each one of those dots out.
Does your spouse ever have to leave town for work? Mine does. Up until this last position, the only nights we had ever spent apart came after my brother had been in a serious car accident. It was right before finals week so my husband wasn't able to come with me to be with family. With his new job we are still so fortunate that his work trips are not frequent. I know so many women whose spouse is in the military or other jobs in which they are required to be away from their families for weeks at a time.
When I look at it that way, a week here and there doesn't seem too bad. I have found that by adding structure and routine into my days, the week goes by much faster. I try to devote all my time to my son when he is awake and save blogging and projects for nap time and bedtime. Then he gets the attention he needs and I have the mental release and creative distraction I so crave when my husband is gone. The only problem comes when I get so into a project that I realize I've been at my sewing machine longer than I had planned. Is is really 1, 2, 3 AM?
The next day I find myself dragging my feet and praying that nap time comes quickly and will last the full two hours so I can catch a nap as well. So there are days of ebb and flow as I make up for my late nights, but it gets me through to the end of the week with the sweet return of my husband.
For all those who have spouses who leave town time and again, what do you do to make the time pass by? Here's what I created last night. My mom had something like this in her home. I used the same material from the crib bedding I made for my son two years ago (will post later... those pictures are on my external hard drive and I'd love to share the finished product with you). It was a quick and easy project that I plan on repeating twice more for our living room and bedroom.
I love it even with just the cover and ribbon. The others will look similar to this.
My little boy is almost two years old. Two year old's need a LOT of attention and entertainment. Especially two year old BOYS! I am always on the look out for ways/things to keep him occupied. Last night at Wal-mart I stopped in the craft section (a guilty pleasure for me in most stores) and found this:
As you can tell I was so excited about this craft that I didn't even take a picture before painting it. And the best part is that it only cost 97 cents!!! A cheap fun toy for Ryan and satisfying my need to be crafty: Perfect!!! They also sell wood cars, trucks, and helicopters. You could even paint some of the planes and attach them to a homemade mobile.
Well if the plane holds up without being eaten or destroyed during the week, I think I'll have a good birthday project for our little guy!
(As you can tell, even with an ultra sealing spray, some of the paint has worn off from excess chewing. I may need to find some stronger spray!)
Three years ago President Uchtdorf, a leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave a talk in the General Relief Society Meeting entitled "Happiness, Your Heritage". The words which were spoken in his talk have been my motivation to create many things. Whether or not you are a member of this church (commonly referred to as the "Mormon church"), this excerpt from the talk holds an uplifting and inspiring message that I believe people of all faiths can relate to. I hope this may inspire you as it has me.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
