Old Friends, New Lens

A new photoshoot with my new 50 mm f 1.8 lens! I love this new lens! It lets in so much more light and gives a better "bokeh" (blurry background). However, I am not used to a fixed lens, so it get frustrating having to move so much during a shoot to get the shots I want! But, I think the outcome is worth it! Here's a sneak peek for the Harts!

Hello, is it even legal to be this cute? I can't believe how cute little Hayden is getting. He has grown so much since we did his newborn shoot, but he's still just as smiley! He was so easy to photograph because of that! I love the spikey hair too! Look at those baby blues! Hayden isn't the only reason we got to have a photoshoot! This family hasn't had a family photo in 10 YEARS!!! It was about time to update it!
This family is always so much fun!!! We laughed and laughed the entire time. Everyone was willing to do whatever I asked and they were happy about it too!!! It makes my life so easy!Shana just looks beautiful!!! A little "Nana" love! He just smiled from ear to ear for her the entire time!

Curtains for Baby's Room

This project isn't too exciting, but I finally put curtains up in the baby's rooms last month. She was 9 months old by the time I finally got around to them! I wanted something simple because lots of other things in the room are so busy! I really wasn't looking forward to sewing all of the strips for the top to hang the curtains from, so I went the lazy route and just sewed on some ribbon for the loops! I ended up loving them! I had plans of sewing flowers onto the curtains before I did the ribbon thing.....so much easier this way! The ribbon gives the curtains the little pop they needed without taking away from the rest of the room!
I also sewed some ribbon across the bottom to tie it in! Such as simple project that anyone that can sew straight lines can do! I have been feeling lazy and not motivated at all to tackle all of my projects! I think it might have something to do with this sinus infection I have along with extreme pain in the teeth, ears, neck, etc. Can't wait to get over this thing and get some motivation back!
I also just got a new lens for my camera and I am soooooo excited to try it out!!!

Quilt for a Big Girl

I made Brianna a quilt for her new twin bed about a month ago. She had been falling out of her toddler bed every night, so it was time for something bigger. We found this trundle on craigslist, which has a pop up bed that equals the heighth of the twin to make a king size bed! We bought it for our guests (hint hint) so they'll finally have a place to sleep! It's not the best looking bed...but someday I'll add a head board or something to it! Anyway, I couldn't find bedding that I liked so I made a quilt for Brianna. It's not always cheaper to make stuff, especially if you're addicted to designer fabrics! I was going to make a dust ruffle and some other matching accessories, but the quilt just cost too much by itself! The fabric was a perfect match to her wall, and I had a hard time finding something this raspberry color!

I did add a binding to the edges and wish I hadn't been so impatient. I was in a hurry and just machine stitched the binding on...it would've looked much better had I hand sewn it!

Bubbly Outfit

I love it when an outfit costs near to nothing. The skirt fabric used to be a shirt I got at a garage sale for 25 cents, it looked like a tent on me so I wanted to upcycle it. The shirt is from the remnant bin at Walmart for about a dollar, and the rest I already had. Using a simple bubble skirt pattern, some inspiration from the Pink Fig Lydia dress sleeves and my own ideas, I came up with a bubble shirt. I love the combo!

I also made a simple flower from the gray fabric. It was going to be a hair accessory, but Brianna insisted that it should go on her skirt, and I agree!

Hey, the silver shoes finally match the outfit!

Beauties!

These beauties came on our little photoshoot the other day. Isn't this little red head just adorable? She has beautiful red hair and deep brown eyes to go with the sweetest personality! She was so simple to photograph and just posed and smiled whenever asked!She is just too cute!Her little sister is just as cute, but I didn't manage to get one shot of her! Maybe next time!
Here is their mom! Isn't she stunning? I asked her at the end if I could take just a few shots of her. She is a natural in front of the camera! I'm hoping to take more photos of her some day!

Under Construction

I'm in the middle of tweaking my blog so I can load larger pictures, but I'm trying to figure out how to fit all of my other things along the side. If you know, I would love an answer. Otherwise, just be patient while I figure it out. You can scroll to the bottom to find all of the things missing from the side! I'm also designing a new blog header, again a new thing for me so it may take a little while as I learn more about html and blog design!

Update: Thanks to all of your help, and especially to Sarah, I was able to figure out the side bar wrapper. Now just a few more tweaks!!!

Spring has Almost Sprung

Wow, it's March! I am so excited for the spring! I made the girls some matching dresses from a pattern made by Pink Fig called the Lydia Dress. I love it, but shirring was not my friend this time around. I've tried it before and had success, but I was ready to pull my hair out this time! Maybe my machine could use a tune up?! I can't count how many times I had to undo the tops of the dresses, but I finally found a way around it that at least works for now!

On Thursday Bri was begging me for a photoshoot and since the sun was out and I had finished the dresses we packed up and went. A lot of my photoshoots with them are spur of the moment. (My friend Megan came along with her girls too! I have a few pics of them to share later!) By the way, I'm sure it's not normal for most kids to be begging to go on photoshoots!

Bri was easy at moments, and totally crazy at others! She's at that age where every smile is forced and not natural unless she's really laughing or smiling about something. Luckily she had lots of good moments too. Here are some of her shots!Please ignore the silver shoes...I didn't realize she had no matching shoes til we were walking out the door. Guess I get to go shopping! ( I still don't know what's causing this linking text...please help me undo it!!!)She reminds me of Alice in Wonderland here!Miranda is at a really challenging stage. She is so curious and on the move, that even with a helper I struggled keeping rocks, dirt and grass out of her fingers and mouth. She rarely looked up, no matter what I did. The pictures of the two together just didn't turn out at all. Oh well, here are a few of Miranda. Even containing her in a tub wasn't the answer. So pensive....she never sits still like this! I'm sure she was thinking, "When is this going to end?"

I made a a ruffled diaper cover, but never got around to taking a picture because she was constantly trying to stuff things in her mouth...and with all of her food allergies and stomach issues any foreign thing causes a lot of inflammation.

Lime and Hot Pink Headband

This is my oldest daughter and she's really into headbands lately. I whipped this up last night while watching American Idol. (Excuse her messy hair, she had just gotten home from her "preschool" and it was cute before she left!!!)

I am mostly excited to share the dressed I made that match this headband, but I forgot to make baby bloomers (I'm half way done now!) and I'm waiting for a good sunny day to get some good shots of the girls in their dresses together! So, until then, enjoy the headband.

P.S. I'm planning on doing a new giveaway soon. Is there anything out there that you would love to win (that I can make)? Give me some ideas and it just may be the next giveaway!