Andrus Family

So, what's supposed to be "sneak peek" is turning into a gallery because I'm having a hard time narrowing down my favorite pics! You're lucky I even cut 4 more out since the computer was giving me a hard time!!
Anyway, here is the Andrus family! All I can say is that I had a blast! What a fun, fun family!


So much excitement, they can't contain themselves! They went along with whatever I said, it was awesome!
Never lacking in the personality department!
I love it when families come up with their own poses!!! This is my favorite! As a photographer I sometimes get stuck in a rut and pose people the same all of the time...thanks to them we got to switch it up some!
The oldest, Brooke, is graduating this year!!!

See, never ending personality! I LOVE it!
Their four absolutely gorgeous children!
The serious and silly side!
Brooke is off to BYU Idaho this year!

The beautiful couple that started this fantastic family!

To the Andrus family: Thank you so much! I haven't had that much fun in a long time! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Andrew and New Indoor Studio

I bought a few new things for my indoor studio and was so excited to try it out on Andrew! This shoot was all natural light, something I used to be so afraid of. Now that I've embraced it, I may never go back!

Isn't he still just so adorable?
Andrew is a huge fan of balls of any sport! When he comes to my house he goes straight for the ball box I have stored away. He even says "ball" when he sees my house! We had so much fun as I was dodging the balls that he would throw at me while taking pictures!And you can never go wrong with a lollipop, right? Any kid will sit there and smile if they can have one of these! I just need to go restock!What a doll! Thanks again Joanna for letting me practice on Andrew with my new studio equipment! He's the best model!

Lieutenant Morris

I was asked to take photos for a Lieutenant in the CHP since he is retiring this week! He needed a portrait in his full uniform. I asked if he could bring a patrol car, and it's one fancy car! I've never done a photoshoot like this before, with a car as a prop and a professional in uniform! So, I was really nervous but I had scouted out a new site with this old building, and I am in love! I love the raw texture, color, and character that this building provides as a backdrop!

I love this photo! Who doesn't want a fun kissing on the car photo with their spouse? These two are so in love! It was so much fun to take their pictures!

Pictures with his supportive and beautiful wife! Don't you love the bricks in the background?They were cracking me up with how silly they were together! So much laughter and fun! I hope my husband and I are always as happy as they are! One hot Mama!!! Her eyes are gorgeous and just popped out with color with this wall! She is throwing his retirement party this week and has already put so much into it!

So, good bye to the CHP and hello to Homeland Security where he'll be starting the day after he retires! Doesn't he realize he could take a little time off and actually retire? Even if just for a week? What a hard worker! Thanks for letting me take your photos, I had such a great time!

Andrew

Yes, you can be jealous!!! He does have the most beautiful eyes ever! I've been taking his pictures since he was in his mommy's tummy! I absolutely love taking pictures of this handsome little guy! He makes my "work" so easy!

Isn't he adorable? I'm excited to finish the indoor portion of his shoot next week! I got some new studio stuff that I'm dying to try out on him!

Freezer Paper Stencil 2 : From Drab to Fab

Taking a $3.00 Walmart t-shirt from drab.....

To Fab! I used my Cricut Expression again for this project! This is similart to my tutorial on freezer paper stenciling with a twist. My inspiration for the pink shirt came from this adult t-shirt I just bought at Target! Using my Home Decor Cartridge I found some simple flower shapes that I liked and followed the directions in my other tutorial for cutting the freezer paper stencil. I then laid my templates on top of an old knit shirt that I had and ironed the stencil on shiny side down. I then backed the fabric with an iron on adhesive. (I used the Heat n' Bond brand.) This way I'll be able to iron my cut fabrics onto the t-shirt later. I then cut around the stencils leaving a tiny edge on the outside so I had more room to sew. (Sorry, no picture!) Once you're done, peel off the backing from the iron adhesive and any trim leftover from the freezer paper. I then had these 3 different flower shapes and arranged them onto the t-shirt where I wanted them.Iron them on with the adhesive side down. Now you can go two different ways. You can either hand stitch or machine stitch around the edges to hold the appliqued images down. I decided to hand sew mine with some embroidery thread. Next time I'll machine stitch because this took FOREVER and killed my fingers! I need to get a thimble and some rubber things for my fingers. The embroidery thread was so thick going through the knit that it took a lot of effort and I had to quit half way through because my fingers hurt so bad. I eventually used a scrap of denim to help pull the needle through which helped save my fingers. I just did some simple stitches around the border of the flowers. You could use a contrasting thread or match the fabric depending on the look you want. When you finish sewing you can embelish it with some beads or other things. I decided I liked the simple look so I just left it as pictured at the top of the post! For the blue shirt I once again followed the other freezer paper stencil tutorial. This time I had a more intricate design, so I kept the freezer paper stencil pieces together and ironed the whole piece on. I then peeled off the pieces so I could paint inside. The flowers had tiny little pieces that I ended up picking out and ironing back on.

After the paint dried I added a cute little bird to the branch...ironing right over the other paint and it worked fine. I also used the Home Decor cartridge for these. Nothing says spring to me like some blossoming flowers and a birdie on a branch!

I also added a little pink paint to the flowers using a dry brush techinique. I added a little fabric paint to a dry brush and then wiped most of it off. I touched up the flowers while the paint was still damp so it would mix a little.

I also painted teh bird's feet orange while it was still in the stencil so you could see his cute feet!

And there you have it! Two shirts for 6 dollars and a little extra love and attention! The possibilities are endless!

I also made a cupcake shirt by cutting out fabric with my cricut and following the same techniques. I'll get to a tutorial on that sometime. Here's a quick picture of it!

Easter Dresses

My girls in their Easter Dresses. I had some fancy fabric and a different pattern chosen, but Brianna wouldn't have it! She wanted a dress that was pink and green and white...luckily I had some fabric in those colors that coordinated. (Recognize the pink fabric? It's the left over from Brianna's comforter! I love being able to use "scraps.") My little "designer" is starting to have too much say in what I sew!!! A sisterly strangle!!!I might be a little obsessed with the fabric rose flowers!! I have so many things I want to put them on. I had made a larger one, but Brianna insisted that she needed 5 flowers on her dress. She wanted them all large, and 2 on her sleeves....we settled with 3 smaller ones! Now I want to adorn all of their clothes with them!Miranda is still so distracted with what's on the ground for outside photos...so this was the best we got!

I love Easter and the fresh colors of new life we find everywhere! Hope yours is a good one!