MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Scrapbook Share

If you scrapbook or make cards then you have probably heard of Hero Arts Stamps! They have so many awesome stamps and I love incorporating stamping into my layouts!

This week they asked me to create a page for their blog with interactive journaling. It is a fun way to incorporate journaling if you have a lot and you either don't have room for it or maybe you just don't want everyone to see your handwriting! :)

On my page I used a die cut card that I just stapled to the page. Then it simply lifts up and reveals the journaling. (I made a score line toward the top and then folded on the line so that it would lift up nicely.)

Here is a sneak peek (a close up of the journaling) and you can see the entire layout over on their blog. They are also giving away the cutest owl stamp I have ever seen! So be sure to enter into the contest!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

the workshop

I am so excited to announce that I am going to be doing photography workshops now! I always love being able to answer your questions and I try to respond to everyone but sometimes it is just too much to explain in an email or I just get busy and get behind. Through the workshops I will be able to answer all of your questions and explain what I do and how I do it in person! Plus it will be a lot of fun!

Let me introduce the workshop to you...

A couple of years ago, Kristyn McBride and I became friends because of our common interests and our love of photography. As our businesses have grown we have become even better friends and we love that we can share our knowledge and new ideas with each other. Now, we want to be able to share all of that information with you!

The most exciting part for me is that we both have a unique style and a different perspective so you will come away with lots of information and a huge variety of ideas! We both love what we do and have spent hours upon hours studying, researching and practicing to become the photographers we are today.

Whether you just want to take better pictures of your own kids or you already own a photography business, we want to help you become a better photographer! We will share what works for us and what doesn't, and how we get our images to look the way they do. This is your chance to pick our brains in person and to see how we shoot. We want to help you take the guesswork and frustration out of it so you can spend more time enjoying photography and capturing memories that will last forever.

We have set up a blog just for the workshops and you will find all of the information (dates, cost, registration, etc.) right here!

I'm so excited! I can't wait for the first one!

More Quilt Baby Product Shots

I have finished shooting all of the bibs and onesies for Quilt Baby (except for a few new designs that aren't ready yet). I can't wait for you to see the new designs they are coming out with - super super cute!! I want them all!! I wish I would have known about these when Emily was just a newborn! She would have been in them every day!!

Next I will start shooting the minky blankets. I have two of them and they are fabulous - such cute designs and then the reverse side is super soft and snuggly!! LOVE them! I also love how adorable they look folded up and displayed in Emily's room. It makes me happy just seeing the cute patterns!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!!

Non-Traditional Engagement Session

I had the privilege of doing an engagement session last weekend for a family that I know and love dearly! It was a non-traditional engagement session because the bride and groom have both been married before and they both have 5 children! That's right - 5 each - for a total of 10! The beautiful bride and her family live across the street from me and all of her girls babysit for me! Not only are they great babysitters but I also served in our church Young Women's program with them so I have grown to love each one of them! They truly are an amazing and inspiring family - so strong and such great people!!

Anyway, they wanted their kids to announce the marriage and they wanted a bunch of fun photos of the new combined family! It was a blast! The kids ranged in age from 4 to teenager and they were all so fun and such good sports - even though it was 110 degrees outside!!!! We worked quickly and drank lots of water and it wasn't that bad! Lucky for us the location has an awesome water feature so we took lots of breaks for the kids to stand in the water and cool off!

Here is one of the darling couple! I will share lots more soon. I have been busy designing their announcements so I haven't gotten to all of them yet! Stay tuned...

Scrapbook Storage and a Question

I need a storage solution and I am wondering if you all can help me out! Does anyone have a fabulous way of storing their rub-ons? Right now I have mine in a metal bin but they are all jumbled together - alphas, journaling spots, flourishes, shapes, etc - and it is not working for me. Plus, once I start cutting into a sheet of rub-ons, they don't stand up well in the bin and I end up with small pieces, etc. I have thought of getting folders - the school type ones - and storing them in those... not sure how great that would work???

Any ideas??

Also, last month got away from me and I never got the chance to post about my article in Creating Keepsakes Magazine that featured my scrapbook room. It was fun to see it in there! It was interesting to put into words how I store everything and how that translates into my creative process. It really got me thinking about whether or not my room and the way my products are stored facilitate or hinder my whole process.

After I wrote the article and thought more about this whole topic, I realized that I needed to change a few things. It's all about evolving right? When Loni was here she pointed out that I was storing some things in different spots around the room rather than in a common area. Even though it has worked so far, I realized that it would speed my process up if I moved a few things around and stored all like things together. I didn't change any furniture or the layout of my room, just found new homes for a few things - gathered some things together that were scattered about. I have to say that I love it and it has helped speed up my process.

It's something to think about - how do you store your products and why do you store them that way? Does it help to make the creative process easy, inviting and fun for you? I for one like things to be organized and I like my room to be clean. If it gets too messy I simply cannot have a clear mind and focus on my projects. I think that is why I am always re-organizing and purging things - always trying to keep control of the abundance and clutter!

Anyway, I know that many of you have asked to see my scrapbook room, so I hope you had a chance to see the article! For those of you that missed it, I will post some pictures in the coming weeks.

Hopefully you all can help me with the rub-ons! I really want to get that organized in a better way!

Thanks and have a great day!!

Photo Share

Just popping in really quick to share a couple of photos.

Here's what we are up to today:

swim lessons

work on some scrapbook layouts for an assignment

emily's physical therapy appointment

work on some photography stuff - edit photos and design a wedding anouncement

clean the house

... all mixed in with the regular stuff of the day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, bath, play with the boys and emily jane...

One thing that frustrates me throughout the summer is that I feel like my house is a constant mess! Even when I have it clean at night before I go to bed, it is a mess by 8:30 the next morning!! Eeek!! Does anyone have any great suggestions on keeping your house clean during the summer when all the kiddos are home from school? I try to ignore it until the end of the day and just pick up in the afternoon before dinner. Otherwise I feel like I could just follow the kids around all day picking up and telling them to pick up. But, on the other hand it drives me crazy to have a messy house all day!! Let me know if you have any good tips!! I need all the help I can get!!

I took these photos of Emily Jane when we were up in Utah back in April. I took them with my cheap little point-and-shoot that my husband got me for Christmas. On one hand, I hate using it because I have become such a perfectionist with my photos, but on the other hand I love having it because it keeps me from missing so many shots when I don't have my big camera with me. I guess it is a love/hate relationship! :) I played around with these in Photoshop - used my actions (lighten up, color pop and vintage), then I did a little more fine tune editing and added a texture. I can't wait to use these on a scrapbook page!!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Winner!!

.... the winner of the give away is:

I am a scrapbooker, but through this have become very interested in improving my photography skills. I love to see your work. What I would like right now is for you to develop your actions for Elements users, as I for one would love to purchase these.
Thank you for the chance to be entered into your giveaway.

Posted by: kathy (kathyb) | June 03, 2008 at 02:45 AM

Congrats Kathy! Email me your address and I will get your package sent out next week!

Thanks to everyone for playing and for all of your feedback/comments! I am glad to know that you all do feel inspired when you come here! I am going through all of your comments and will plan some fun things to do on here in the future, including some more give aways!!

We are heading to the pool today! The boys are already in their suits and telling me that they are going to go hop in the car even though we are not going for a couple of hours! They must be excited! Tyler loves the waterslides this year and he goes down them about 100 times every time we go! He and Matthew are both a lot less afraid of the water this year - jumping in more and not being afraid to put their heads under. We start swim lessons next week and I think they will do really well this year - hoping for lots of progress. When you move here from Utah, it is hard for the kids to catch up in the swimming department since most Arizona kids basically live in the pool from the time they are born! :) We are getting there!

I will leave you with a few more photos from a session that I did a while back. This little girl is just too cute!!

Have a great Saturday!!

Oh, one more thing. When you purchase my actions, the only email that I have to send the actions to is the email that is linked to your paypal account. So, it is critical that you make sure the email on your paypal account is your current email. I am trying to email the actions to someone that purchased them on June 6th and the email keeps getting returned to me. I have no other way to contact you so hopefully you will see this and email me with a new email!! If you have purchased my actions recently and have not received them, please email me!! Thanks!!

Quilt Baby

Remember this adorable onesie and blanket that I got from Quilt Baby? After seeing the pictures of little miss Emily on my blog, the owners contacted me and hired me to photograph all of their products for their website, marketing, etc. It has been fabulous working with them so far and I am so excited to start sharing a few of the images with you! The crazy thing is that they are located in North Carolina and I am in Arizona, but today's technology makes everything possible! When the first shipment arrived - all of the onesies and bibs - it was so fun to see them all in person and to see the new designs they are coming out with soon!
Emily and my good friend's baby have been doing all of the modeling for us. It has been quite the experience - lots of hard work but also very rewarding. I will just say that baby modeling is a time consuming and tiring job for the babies and the moms! :) They especially don't enjoy the multiple clothing changes! After three different shoots, lots of smiles and some tears and way too much terrible singing and jumping around by me, we are almost done with all of the onesies and bibs. The two little cuties have just learned to crawl so it can be quite a job getting them to sit in one spot for more than half a millisecond! But, as always, the reward comes when I am sitting here at my computer going through the images and I come across the "money shots". No words to describe it - just the ones that take my breath away for a second, stop me in my tracks and make me forget about all of the hard work it took to get there. The ones that I am so excited to share with the owners of Quilt Baby that I have to stop editing and email them. And then when I get the email back saying that they love it and that it is exactly what they had in mind.... two creative visions becoming one. I love what I do!!

And of course, I know I am also biased because she is my baby girl and I am head over heels. I can't get enough of her and her adorable little personality that is emerging and blooming more and more every day..... but that is another post!

I adore this last one of baby B. I love the tiny glimpse of his chin and mouth, his hands and leg. He is so cute!!

Thanks to all for your sweet and fun comments on the Give Away post! There is still one more day to enter... I will leave it open for all of Friday and draw the winner Saturday morning.

Give Away!!

I have been doing some Spring (or actually Summer) cleaning around here and I went through all of my scrapbook supplies to re-organize a few things and to purge some of my excess. Purging and organizing seem to be a constant activity for me... always striving to find the balance between having what I need and will use vs having just too much stuff. The older I get, the less I like clutter and I feel the constant need to get rid of the excess. And I also realize that part of this is resisting the urge to buy so much - especially when it comes to scrapbooking. I know I find myself wanting all of the new products, when in reality I just can't use it all! I am getting better though and that is why I love the monthly kits so much! It gives me a sampling of the latest and greatest while keeping me out of the scrapbook stores where I would probably buy 10 times as much stuff! Anyway, lucky for you, I now have some very large stacks of products that I would like to share with those of you that scrapbook and that would put all of it to good use!

I will draw a winner for the first give away on Friday! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post and answer the following: As a scrapbooker/crafter/photographer, what would you like to see more of from me? What questions do you have for me? What techniques or projects would you like to see more of? When you come here, what are you looking for - inspiration, photos, techniques???? I want to be posting things that are helpful to you all and things that you like to see, so please tell me!! I am all ears!

I Heart...

These amazingly clever and cute bulletin boards that Jennifer Pebbles and her husband are selling on their etsy site Little Pretty Studio. Aren't they so fun? I especially love the woodgrain fabric! I want to put up 5-7 of these on my wall in my laundry room! I just think all of the different fabrics would look so cute clustered together.

These hand embroidered photo albums by For The Record. I love the handmade look of these - the fabric, the stitching and the buttons. They are too cute! Lots more over on their site - I love them all!!

This butterfly print from Lush Bella. I am loving butterflies these days - love to use them on my scrapbook layouts. This print also reminds me of this project that Ali Edwards made. I absolutely loved it and still want to make one... just need to figure out where I could put it first.

All of these are from Etsy! I love that site - It is one of my favorite places to shop now!

I Should Live in Germany

I was just checking out one of my fave inspiration sites, decor8 and I was immediately taken by these photos of "typical" rooms that you would find in Germany. My husband served a mission in Germany and he has always told me that I would love the decorating style there - clean, modern, sleek. Well, I have never really seen a collection of photos pulled together like this and yes, now I am convinced... I really should live in Germany!

Not only do I love the clean lines and modern feel of these rooms, but I am captivated by all the color! I love color and have tried to incorporate more of it into my home the last few years because it just makes me happy! But, I also love the fresh, crisp look of white so I strive to find the balance between white/neutral and color. I have a lot of blue and green throughout my home with some orange in a few of the rooms too. I have wanted to add some pink for quite some time now but wasn't sure what my husband would think so I have held back. Well, I finally took the plunge last week and added a few touches of pink to my main floor - kitchen/dining area/family room. I added a couple of pink metal frames in my kitchen, which led to some pink blossom branches in the dining area which led to a couple of very cute pink and white pillows in the family room. I really love it and it makes me smile, and my dear husband hasn't even mentioned it, which means it must not bug him! :)

Anyway, here are the photos that I found on decor8. These are just a few and there are more over there so be sure to check them out! Use them for inspiration to add a little color to your own home this spring or they are also great inspiration for some fun and colorful scrapbook pages! I love to get inspiration from home decor for my scrapbook projects!

I will share some photos from my own home soon! I get a lot of requests from people asking me to share more of my home and the decor and I apologize for not getting to it sooner! I have just been doing some spring cleaning and moving things around so as soon as it is back together, I will take photos! Last week I put up a white tile back splash in my kitchen... finally! It is something I have wanted to do since we moved in, but wasn't sure if I could do it. I have seen it done before on TV so I figured it couldn't be too hard and it really wasn't bad at all! Last Monday at 4pm I decided on a whim to do it, went to Lowe's, got the stuff and by noon the next day it was done! Sometimes when I am in the middle of projects like this I wonder what in the world I was thinking, but it was so worth it! We love it! My husband was in shock when he came home from work and found (to his unexpected surprise) that I was putting up tile in the kitchen! But, all he could say after it was done is that he loves it and he thinks I did a "phenomenal" job! Thanks babe! So, photos of that to come soon too!

Well, I hope you are all having a wonderful spring day and that these photos from decor8 are as inspiring to you as they are to me! It is cool and raining here, which actually feels so nice since we have already been over 100 the last couple of weeks! I guess I should stop procrastinating and get back to cleaning now! :)

Bubble Gum

This little guy has recently learned how to blow bubbles! Wahoo!! He is so excited about it and is constantly sharing his new skills with us! I love the one of him chewing his gum and getting ready to blow another bubble! Too cute!!

Want to Win a Nikon D60?

Creating Keepsakes is doing a sweepstakes and you could win this camera!! Here is the link to enter the contest online! Good luck!

We Adore Him

We absolutely adore this little guy! He is at the BEST age right now! He is about to turn 3 and is seriously the funniest kid ever! He is always making everyone smile and laugh! At times he has the deepest most scruffiest voice and at other times it squeaks like a high-pitched little mouse! He talks like he is 20 years old and says things that baffle all of us! His new thing is that he says "thank you mommy" and "thank you daddy" every time we give him something or tell him something. I am always telling him how cute he is and every time I get the same reply in the cutest ever voice, "thank you mommy!" It is enough to make you want to freeze him in time! The other thing I always ask him is "who made you so cute?" and every time he gives me this sigh like he cannot figure out why I never stop asking and then he says "I told you already.... Jesus."

Happy Birthday and Senior Pictures!

Matthew and Nathan both have birthdays this month so we are celebrating today with a giant party! They are both so excited and we have lots of little friends coming over this afternoon! I am busy getting ready - making cakes, putting together favor bags and figuring out some fun games for them to play!

I want to share a few more senior pictures with you in honor of graduation coming up. School is definitely winding down and we are getting close to being out for summer break! For us that means lots and lots of heat and trying to find some things to do to stay cool... swimming, summer movie group and trips to indoor play places like Peter Piper Pizza and Chick-Fil-A!!

What are your favorite activities to do in the summer to beat the heat? I would love some new and fun ideas!!

Have a great Friday!!

Action Samples

Hi there! Just popping in to share some examples of what you can do with my actions. I want to show how they can be mixed and matched and used together to create a ton of different looks. I took some fun photos of my kids when we were up in Utah this month and I just started playing around with them. It is fun to see the different images you can create based on which actions you use and in which order.

Below are just a few different combinations that I wanted to show you. (Click on the images to see them larger.)

Here is the original and then I did the basic vintage followed by the extreme color action.

Here are a few more samples showing even more combinations. On the first sample I ran the extreme color followed by the simple color boost because I wanted a tiny bit more pop. Then the next sample shows the extreme color followed by the yellow vintage and then the warm vintage. On the last one I ran the extreme color and then the yellow vintage twice to make it very vintage looking.

I could just sit on here and play around for hours trying different combinations! It is fun to see what happens each time you layer another action over the previous one! Now, the hard part is choosing which version I like the best! :) As of now, I think this one is my favorite... extreme color followed by yellow vintage and then warm vintage.

What do you think? Let me know if you have a favorite combination that I haven't shown yet! I would love to try it and share it with everyone!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Senior Photos

It is almost the end of the school year and I have had the great opportunity to do a handful of senior photo shoots this year! I have loved each and every one of these shoots! It is so fun to spend an entire shoot on one person! I love the outfit changes and all of the different things we can do! Fun stuff!!

Here are a few, with more to come later... One thing I can't get over is how beautiful all of these girls are!! They all should be models, don't you think??

All of these were edited with my photoshop actions. Thank you for all of your support and thanks to those of you that have shared some of your images with me! I am so glad that you are liking them! Please always feel free to email me if you need help with anything!

Oh, one more thing... Have you seen this yet?

So fun and exciting -- Emily and I are on the cover of the Creating Keepsakes magazine this month! I have known it was coming for a while but I have to say I was still taken back when I first saw it on the rack in the grocery store!! I took pictures with my phone!! Thanks to my great friend and also great photographer Kristyn for taking this photo of us. It is one that I will always love and treasure! (I also swiped this image from her blog... hope you don't mind Kristyn! :) I have been meaning to take a picture of it but just haven't gotten to it yet!) Fun stuff!!

oh neglected blog...

We have had a ton of things going on...

I have taken a bunch of photos....

and yet I haven't made it on here to share anything.....

and I'm not on my computer so I still can't share any photos until tomorrow...

The ultimate scrapbooking, photo taking, most amazingly funny and dearest friend, Loni Stevens, was at my house for an entire week!! I know.... lucky huh? She is the best! We didn't stop talking for one second and we laughed into the wee hours of the night each and every night! I am still recovering from a week of no sleep but it was so worth it! She is the best.... in so many ways! I love that girl!

I taught at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Mesa last Friday and Saturday. Met a ton of very fun and enthusiastic scrapbookers, talked until my voice was gone, ate the most fabulous lunch at Rosa's both days and finally got to meet some other amazingly talented  (and famous) scrapbookers in person - friends that I have made through email and blogging and finally got a chance to meet... Becky Higgins, Elizabeth Kartchner, Tena Sprenger, Kah Mei from Fontwerks!!! All of them were even sweeter in person than I could have imagined. Fabulous ladies to say the very least!

I did two more senior photo shoots that I can't wait to share with you. I don't know how I get so lucky to be able to shoot the most beautiful girls around! They were both so cute and so fun, each in their own way. One of them let me choose the location so I was excited to do something a little different and I love how the pictures turned out. Lots to share in the coming weeks!!

Loni and I also stumbled upon the most amazing location the other day which I can't wait to shoot at. I am going to try to take my kiddos down there soon so I have some photos to share. Loni took a bunch of me, but I don't know how many of those I will let you see! :) I was going to take some of her but I didn't have my camera and her camera started acting up and was not focusing so I didn't get any. We wanted to go back the next day but didn't have time. Anyway, if you are ready for family photos and want a fun and fabulous and different location, call me!! I can't wait to shoot a family here... so fun!!

Well, that's it for now...

much more to come later...

and photos will be included, I promise!!

Baby Love

I'm so excited to announce the new Making Memories idea book that I contributed to -- Baby Love! This was one of my favorite books to work on because I love babies and all things related! Babies are just so cute and precious right - what's not to love? All of the projects I created for this book mean a lot to me and it is always so exciting when the book finally comes out and I can share them with all of you!
The book has nine chapters that are full of inspiring creations -- from baby gifts and thank you notes to baby home decor and shower ideas. Making Memories is celebrating the arrival of this new book over on their blog this week. They are showing some sample ideas from the book and they are giving away one copy of the book EVERY DAY this week!! Fun right?
Below is a display board that I created for the book. What I love about it is the fact that this board can be used in a baby nursery to display photos and memorabilia but it could also work anywhere in your home. You could easily modify it to fit any color scheme!

I was just reading through the comments about this display board over on the Making Memories blog and I wanted to answer some of your questions. (Also, thank you so much for all of your kind words - I'm so glad you like it!!) It is the Making Memories magnetic display board that is part of their modular system. It is silver when you buy it. I just painted it with Making Memories paint and then glued all of my paper and embellishments right on top. The paint and embellishments do not alter the magnetic quality of the board. As long as you have a nice strong magnet, it will hold through all of that. If you have any other questions, please ask!!

Thanks again! And be sure to check out the Making Memories blog so you can have a chance to win a copy of the book!

Happy....

Making Memories is featuring a scrapbook layout that I created over on their blog today. It is all about the word HAPPY!! Here is a sneak peek of my layout and you can see the details and the entire layout here!

The photograph on my layout was taken by my new friend and fabulous photographer, Shannon!! We met in Chicago and she is so sweet and so fun! I hardly ever get photos with me in them because I am always the one behind the camera! My other friend, Kristyn, was actually taking pictures of me and making me be all crazy and silly and Shannon was over to the side snapping away also. Thanks for the photo Shannon! Fun to have a different perspective!!

Have a great day!!

Some Oldies

Looking back through some older pictures that I took last year and wanted to share a few.

This last picture is Matthew, to a "T"... totally captures his personality! It's one of our favorites! I printed the last two on metallic paper at 16x20 and hung them in his room. They make such a statement! I was nervous at first to go that big but I love seeing them every time I glance toward his room! They make me smile!

Sharing...

A layout I did with Lisa Bearnson's Kit of the Month:

The kit is called "Details Enclosed" and I have to say that this is one of my favorite kits I have ever seen!! There are all sorts of folders, pockets, envelopes, journaling cards, etc. The layout above is actually a large folder that opens from the top. What I am going to do is stick in all of the random things that I want to save during the year that relate to Tyler. I plan to make another one for each of my kids.

All of the products in the kit are so well-designed -- cool colors, amazing typography, embossing... I LOVE it all!! There are 140 total pieces in the kit and the image below is just a sampling of what you get. The kit includes a similar amount of product as shown in the image below in 12 different colors - teal, green, light blue, salmon (pinkish-orange), purple, orange, black, brown, yellow, red, pink & white. If you click here you will see exactly what you get and all of the colors... so cool!!

Also be sure to hit the "see kit details" button where you can check out a bunch of different samples - two that I did and then a ton of others by some amazingly talented artists!! It's always fun to see what different people do with the same kit!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

My Actions

I am so excited to announce that I am now selling my photoshop actions!

People are always asking me how I edit my photos to get them looking the way they do. And honestly in the past, I couldn't say that there was a consistent process in my workflow. I had a bunch of different actions and would end up running them and then tweaking things or changing things to get the image to look just how I wanted it.

One thing that always bothered me was that some actions literally take ages to run because there are so many steps in them. I am a "keep it simple" girl and I believe in making things quicker and easier so that we all can spend more time away from the computer. My actions are right to the point and run very quickly (just how I like them).

I have spent the past months perfecting my actions and fine-tuning them so that they give me nice consistent results every time - without a lot of time and effort. And I am excited to finally be at a point where I can share them and help you get the same look with your photos!!

I am starting with the release of my Vintage Action Set and my Color Action Set.

The Vintage Action Set includes 3 different actions that will give your images that old, worn, vintage look that we are all loving right now.

The Color Action Set includes 3 color actions along with a bonus action called "lighten up" which brightens your dark or underexposed images before you run the other actions. I have included my Simple Color Boost action that I use it on all of my every-day photos when I want a little punch without spending a lot of time.

The actions can also be used together as the sample below shows to get even more looks for your photos.

Click on the links to the left for all of the details or to purchase my actions! Thanks to everyone I have talked to about this for believing in me and for giving me the encouragement to take this leap! I asked a handful of people to try out my actions before I started selling them and I have been absolutely in awe over their response and their kind words and support!

I will continue to show more samples using my actions in the coming weeks and I would also love to see what you do with them so please share!!

Almost 9 Months...

... and getting so big!! I can't stop taking pictures of her! It is so much fun!!

I am in love with this onesie and matching blanket that I got from Quilt-Baby... seriously cute stuff they have over there! I also got the onesie with the little blue bird and the one with the mod butterfly! Too cute! I absolutely adore them - soft, simple, modern, handmade - right up my alley!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Also... some fun and exciting new things coming really soon that I am so excited to share with you - check back soon!!

Utah Photo Shoots

Hi everyone! It looks like I am going to be up in Utah next week and I know that there are many of you in Utah that have asked me about doing shoots when I am up there next.

This is kind of a last minute trip so I apologize for the short notice! But, if you can make it work, let me know and we can get you scheduled.

Either comment here or shoot me an email and we can talk about dates, times, etc.

Have a great day!

a few more of sweet baby A

I was so excited when Kelly pulled out the pink tutu! So much fun!

I think this last one is my favorite from the shoot. I don't really know why, but it speaks to me... love the lighting, the mood of it... her looking away. There's just something about it...

...love that I get to do this, that I get to capture things like this.

I can't get enough...

... of this adorable little girl!!

Here are a couple more of the little sweetheart that I posted about last week. This was her 1-year photo shoot! She was so great and lasted a lot longer than I thought she would! She was a trooper! The only thing was -- as soon as we met up to start the shoot, she reached out for me and wanted me to hold her! I was so flattered and thought it was so sweet! I thought - great, we are off to a good start! She likes me, even though she has only met me once before and it was months ago! But then, she couldn't figure out why I wanted to put her down and take pictures of her! She just wanted me to keep holding her!! Too cute!

And her mom, bless her heart, is the sweetest thing! I adore her! It is so wonderful when clients turn into friends and I am always amazed at how nice people are! She knows that I am a scrapbooker and so she brought be a cute jar filled with the most amazing ribbons! They are all pink, brown and white! (I had great intentions of taking a picture of it but haven't yet, so you will just have to imagine it!) How sweet is that? Thank you again Kelly!

More to come from this shoot later... my favorites.... see I am holding out on all of you now :) -- I'm trying to post more often, so I can't just show you all of them at once! Hehe!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Sneak Peek for Kelly

I have been told that I need to post more pictures and more often! I am sorry! I try to update as much as possible but I know I can do better! I am going to try for sweet and simple -- shorter posts and more often. So we will start out with a sneak peek of a session that I am proofing. Isn't she just adorable? More to come very soon!

We Have a Winner!

Hi everyone! Thanks for playing along! This was fun! I am overwhelmed at how many people posted! I really appreciate all of your support and all of the sweet comments! You all should say hello more often! I especially loved reading all of your interesting facts about yourselves! Each time I would receive a new comment in my email inbox, I would stop and read your interesting facts. Some of them made me say "wow, that is crazy!" and others literally made me laugh out loud! It was great getting to know a little tidbit about each of you!

Melissa said she could eat chips and salsa every day and I am totally with her on that one! Not so much the chips and salsa from the store but I love to eat them at a restaurant! I especially love the ones at a place near us called Rico's. They are warm and a just a little bit greasy with plenty of salt. Delicious!!

Annie and Marie are both getting married this year! Congrats to you guys!!

Renee - what in the world is a nutria???

The funniest for me was probably the fact that lindsay sleeps with one sock on and one sock off! And maybe that is not even funny to some but it gave me a chuckle!

Anyway, I could go on and on, but it was just fun to hear all of your random facts! Thanks for sharing!!

And finally, since I know you are dying to know who won......

It's DanelleB.:

Your style makes me want to create and I always want to see what new ideas you can share. I live in California about 50 miles east of San Francisco. I have 2 boys.. with my husband I guess I have 3 since he is such a little boy at heart :-)

Have a great week!!!
DanelleB.

Posted by: Danelle | March 11, 2008 at 08:53 AM

Congrats! Email me your address and I will get a box of scrapbooking goodies off to you next week!

Thanks again everyone! Like I said, it is overwhelming and crazy to think that I can be an inspiration to so many of you! What a fun and rewarding industry this is.... so thankful to be blessed with the opportunities that I have had! Hugs!!

Thank You and a Giveaway!

I wanted to say a huge Thank You to all of you that have commented and/or emailed me about the Creating Keepsakes cover! You are all so sweet and I am so glad that you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it! Each and every comment means a lot!!

And just to express my gratitude, I thought I would do a little giveaway! Sound good? To be included in the drawing, just leave a comment on this post and tell me something fun or interesting about yourself! I would love to get to know all of you a little better! You have until Tuesday night to leave a comment. On Wednesday morning I will draw a random person who will win a box of scrapbooking goodies from my stash! It will be a mix of products - some brand new and also some "oldies, but goodies."

Thanks again everyone!! Have a great day!

Finally, I Can Share This!

Do you recognize this adorable little girl? A few months ago Creating Keepsakes emailed me and asked me if they could use a photo from this shoot that I did for their COVER LAYOUT!! I was so excited and just so honored that they wanted to use one of my photos!! I quickly emailed her parents to ask permission and they were of course thrilled too!

A couple of days after that Creating Keepsakes emailed me again and asked me if I would create two layouts with the photo. They wanted me to send both of them in and then they would choose their favorite to use on the cover of the issue!! I was again super excited and of course, I said yes! Man, was that pressure! I know I create layouts all the time and have been published a lot but this was a big deal! I don't think I have ever been that nervous creating a layout before! I mean, what if I sent them in and they didn't like either of them enough to put on the cover! Scary stuff!!

I was so excited to see this in my mailbox the other day! It is so fun to actually see it in print and to hold it in my hands! And, naturally, her parents were thrilled too! They are being a little modest about it, but I told them they should shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone! It's not often that your daughter gets chosen to be on the cover of a magazine that gets mailed to people all around the world!

Unfortunately there was an editorial mistake and they accidentally removed the credit info and supply list at the last minute to move some things around and then it didn't get put back on. Kind of a bummer, I know. The super nice folks at CK feel so bad! But, nonetheless, this is huge for me and I am so thrilled and honored!! You can see this layout up close and you can also view the alternate layout I created with the same photo at this link. The supply lists are there as well.

Thanks for stopping by and for letting me share this with you!! I am blessed to have had such amazing opportunities in my life!! Fun stuff!!!

We Love Nathan!

Making Memories is featuring a layout that I made over on their blog today. Here is a detail shot but you can see the entire layout along with the instructions over on their blog.

I obviously made this layout for Valentine's Day but I still have it up! I hung it in our kitchen where we could see it and I just can't bring myself to take it down! It just makes me smile when I see this picture of him! I think I am going to continue to hang layouts in this spot - just change them out every once in a while. I especially love the look of the die cut circle paper hanging up like this rather than just the typical square layout.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Senior Pictures

I had the privilege of photographing this gorgeous girl recently for her senior pictures. Not only is she amazingly beautiful on the outside, but I also happen to know her very well and she is a beautiful person on the inside too! She was a ton of fun to photograph and she was such a natural! I love how so much personality comes through on her photos! And her eyes... well, I will let you see for yourself!

It took me a while to get her proofs done because there were just too many good ones to choose from! I had such a hard time narrowing it down, but I finally got it done and I am excited for her to see them! Here are a few of my favorites and as always, you can view the entire album here. (Actually, they are all my favorite... she is just too cute!)

Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it's a good one for all of you!! HUGS!!

Scarlet Lime Scrapbook Kits

I was lucky enough to be asked to join Scarlet Lime this month as their guest artist! I was asked to put together a kit of some of my favorite products and then design a project using the kit! It was a lot of fun and I absolutely love how the kit turned out - full of fun stuff! Unfortunately it sold out a few hours after it went on sale so they are all gone but I wanted to share the projects I did with it.

This first project is a piece of plexiglass (that came with the kit) that I designed and embellished as a home decor item. You could either take the glass out of a frame and frame the whole piece or just leave it by itself and lean it on a shelf or table. I have had it sitting in many different spots in my home and it works everywhere! If you bought my kit you will get the complete instructions to make this!

After making the project I had so much left over that I didn't even use, so I wanted to show everyone another fun thing they could make with the same kit. This is a mini album, entitled "bits & pieces". I wanted to make a fun little book where I can record random thoughts, memories and photos. It is super simple. I decorated the cover and the first page and then left the remaining pages blank. When I get to each page, I will first do my journaling, add photos if any, and then if there is room left over, I will add a simple embellishment. This is a no-pressure, no-fuss way of scrapbooking (for my friends who "don't scrapbook"). You can record memories and photos in a little book like this and it doesn't have to be fancy or time-consuming! Keep it as simple as you want and if you are feeling more creative one day, then you can do a little more to that page. See, super easy, right?