2013 Christmas Photos

Hey everyone, I've been busy preparing for this season's craft fairs and our annual family photos.

I really love creating the perfect family photos.  In years past I've typically gone with a color theme, but this year I went with a very specific time in history....the 20's.

I have spent the last couple of months looking for the perfect clothing, accessories, location, and photographer.

Location: Star Hill Ranch, Adam (the owner) is wonderful to work with and very laid back.

Photographer: Dalton Campbell Photography

Without further ado, here is a sample of our photos.  There were so many great ones, but I'm waiting until after Christmas to post those!

Husband: White button down, camel colored khakis, brown shoes, and green and navy suspenders from H&M (only thing I had to buy for him was the suspenders.)

Me: Dress: Anthropologie - At Dusk Dress, Shoes: Payless - American Eagle Oxford Heels, long strand of pearls found at a garage sale, Hat: Amazon - Rabbit Fur Cloche in Moss (the reviews of this hat stated the size was too big, which was perfect for me, as I have a large head...if you have an average sized head any store carries this style of hat), Capelet: My own pattern (I have been working on this capelet for over a month and hope to one day have the pattern for sale in the shop).

Daughter: Dress: Naartjie - Pieced Mixed Dress in Oatmeal, Shoes: Steve Madden - JChevie boot, Tights: Target - Cable knit tights, Bow: Claires - Oversized lace bow headband (I pulled the bow off the headband and attached it to an alligator clip.

Son: Outfit: Tuxgear - Boys Knickers (This company is fast, but be aware buy a size larger as it runs very small), Shoes: Shoe Carnival - Brown Loafer, and Tights: Target - white cotton tights (if your son won't wear tights, just use brown socks)

Not So Spooky Halloween Treat Table

If your kids are anything like mine they love Halloween.  What's not to love, candy, cookies, cupcakes, and costumes? But all the super scary stuff...well they are horrified and not in a good Halloween way.

So every year I need to come up with not so scary Halloween decorations.

This year I am going with a color theme: orange, purple, and lime green.  Then I sprinkled in some cute jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, and cats.

I have added things that I have collected over the years.  The glitter "Boo" sign and 2 orange glitter trees are from the dollar section at Target a few years ago.

The ghost candy dish is from Target and the jack-o-lantern candy dish and ceramic ghosts are from Hobby Lobby from several years ago.

I love the scaredy cat.  I found that last year at Michaels.

The fabric is just a half yard of woven Halloween jack-o-lantern fabric from Joann's.  Just remove about 5 threads lengthwise to create the fringed edges.

If you're like me and don't have time to make fabulous Halloween decorated cupcakes, just buy generic ones from the local grocery store.  Add plastic spider, bat, and skull rings you can find at any dollar store to make it look not so spooky.

Finish off the table with an adorable scrappy bunting from Taylor & Landon.  The bunting banners are made with cotton and cotton canvas, then stitched together into approximately a 4 yard strand. The bunting can easily be cut into smaller pieces if needed.

 

There are a limited quantity available so get them here while they last.

What I Wore Wednesday - May 8

This past week has been beautiful in the NW. 

The kids and I went out towards one of the mountain passes and enjoyed the sun while riding trains.

This week I have linked in with The Pleated Poppy and The Life of the Party. 

Here's what I wore:

Top: Crepe mint blouse with peter pan collar: Forever 21 (it also has tiny white cats printed on it) - Sorry sold out, but here's one very similar

Bottom: Jeans from Express

Bag: Taylor & Landon

Put a Bird on It

What a great Easter weekend here in the Northwest!  All this sun makes me want to paint something with a bird on it.  

I was at a 12 hour craft retreat on Saturday and even though I should have napped kid-free the entire time....I crafted, went on a quick shopping trip, sewed the bodice to a dress, and did my taxes.  It's insane what you can get done without a couple children begging you to put the glue gun down.

First I started with a 16" x 20" blank canvas.  Here is the pack of 2 I bought and had shipped directly to my house (thank you Amazon!)

Then I painted the entire canvas with a mustard yellow acrylic.  I put down 3 coats, waiting until each previous layer of paint was dry (if you don't, when you paint over the wet spots the paint stroke will remove the wet paint).
This is after only 1 coat.

Now to start the fun part.  I found these awesome Martha Stewart stencils.

 First I carefully cut out the portion of the stencil I wanted to use.  I took a blob of white acrylic paint and added my mustard until I liked the color.  Then I took a stencil sponge and just dabbed a little paint onto it (if you add too much it will smear the detail of the stencil).  I did not tape the stencil down since I would be constantly moving it along the canvas.

I placed the stencil in the upper left hand corner and held with my non-stencil dabbing hand.  Next I gently tapped the sponge vertically into all the design holes, reloading the sponge when needed.  After all the holes were painted I carefully pulled the stencil away from the canvas.  Then I just moved the stencil down to the next location.  For the second row I started in the center and centered my stencil with 2 from the first line. I continued from there trying to just eyeball the placement.

It sure was pretty, but I felt it needed more.  Since I was in the spring mood I felt a bird on a branch should be added.

First I just free handed with light pencil strokes a branch outline.  Then I went over those lines with a cobblestone gray acrylic paint, increasing the thickness of the branch at the right side of the canvas.  I only needed 2 coats of this paint.  Don't stress, these are branches, even in nature they're not perfect.

Now to put the bird on it.  Since I was at a retreat I had access to a Cricut. I used the bird from this cartridge and increased the size to 6". 

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If you don't have a Cricut you could just Google Image search for a bird silhouette.  Print out the image you like to a large scale.  Cut out the bird and trace with a pencil where you want it to sit.  Then fill in the image with a nice contrasting color.  

 I just used Elmer's glue on the back of the heavy cardstock and glued it on one of the branches.

 

Pin-up Photo Shoot - Part 1

For the past few months I have been sewing 40's pin-up style clothing.  Why you ask, so I could model for a pin-up photo shoot...of coarse!  It just so happened my mom would be in town all the way from Florida and we could do this together. 

The wonderful and talented Shiree Collier would do our hair and make-up. She is amazing.  You can follow her on Facebook.  If you're not on Facebook, here is her website.

There is only one person I would trust to take my photo and make me look like a real model, Christine Moody from Trimood Photography.  Follow her on Facebook (you won't be disappointed).  I have worked with her on several photo shoots as well as my own family photo session.  She is absolutely one of the best out there.

Now for all the clothing fun.  In Part 1 I am only discussing what patterns I used.  Part 2 will have behind the scenes and Part 3 will have photos of my modeling debut.

First up was a pair of super short and high waisted sailor shorts.  I made several different shorts from various patterns (and modified patterns) and only one was exactly what I was looking for.  I am very long waisted.  To get the true high waisted effect I should have added 2" to the inseam (I didn't have time to remake, but the look was still cute).  The actual pattern on Burdastyle was for pants.  The only modifications I had to make were to shorten and take in to make super tight.  I used a blind hem.

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To go with the shorts I wanted a perfectly fitted bustier top.  Through Craftsy I found this bombshell  dress.  I splurged and bought the class which comes with the pattern.  Gretchen, the lady that teaches the class, was easy to follow and great at explaining new techniques.  The class was set-up with lots of segments and places to write notes and ask questions.  I only made the top.  But I did not hem the bottom or add the lining and boning.  Therefore, I could easily add the skirt from the pattern and have a totally different look.

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My mom wore a dress I already had from my sister's drag queen baby shower.  I made this dress using Butterick B6582.  I pretty much followed the pattern exactly.  I did have to take it in a good 3-4".  I created a cute belt with a bow.  To get that full skirt I wore a tea-length petticoat.

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As for my fitted wiggle dress I wanted something like this Bettie Page Clothing Dress.  I found a simple dress pattern that I could sew a white facing into and just have the zipper start lower on my back and leave the flap open.  I used New Look 6123 View C without the flutter sleeve.  Since I used a matte jersey I was able to make the dress skin tight.  I added a matching simple flat belt to cover the waist seam.

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My third and final look was the most difficult yet.  I made a vintage style swimsuit.  This pattern is from Burdastyle.  I added 3 inches to the torso length, fully lined, swimsuit bra cups, and faux skirt on the front.  I crisscrossed the straps and attached them at the bust line.  

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Next week I will have all the behind the scenes photos and all the work that goes into a pin-up photo shoot in Pin-up Photo Shoot - Part 2. Wanna see the final product and all the fabrics I used, you will have to wait for Pin-up Photo Shoot - Part 3.

 

Photo booth fun

This year I was in charge of the school auction's photo booth.

Thank goodness for Pintrest!  I was able to find this awesome blog, Oh Happy Day, that actually gives you downloadable printouts and directions to make your very own photo booth props.  I also had picture frames from Goodwill that had been spray painted in bright colors.

Then I used my craft fair table backdrop as the photo booth backdrop stand that my wonderful husband made for me.  Life in The Thrifty Lane has a super easy tutorial to follow. 

As for the banner, I just printed the letters and glued them to colored cardstock.  Then taped that to twine from the Home Depot.  The streamer was made from circles cut from cardstock using a die cutter that the school had and then simply sewing them together with a straight stitch.

Another great thing is friends that invite you over for wine before an alcohol free event!