Photo Friday :: Landscape ::

This week's project in Photo Op was landscapes. I wish I would have read ahead to this chapter before I went to my parent's in Central Illinois last weekend. I have many more opportunities to take landscape shots in rural Illinois than I do in St. Louis.

There are beautiful landscapes in St. Louis as well. One of them being Creve Couer Park in Maryland Heights. I went after work when the sun was just setting. I got to witness a beautiful sunset and capture some brilliant colors.  At first, everything had a golden glow. Then, at one point for less than 5 minutes right before the sun went under the horizon, the trees behind me glowed bright orange. Right after the sun went behind the tree line, I got the photo above. The water looked almost metallic like with colors of purple, pink, and orange.

:: Colee's B-day ::

Last Friday, my little sis turned 25. I went home for the weekend to celebrate with her. We went bowling on Friday night, which I hadn't done in a while. My score was awful but I think I good time was had by all. 

Cosmic Bowl!

I made her an infinity scarf out of a patterned jersey cotton for her birthday. I have lots of extra fabric so I will probably end up making one for myself too!

She's so pretty!

Here is the card I made her. The wording was Mike's idea. I think it's really funny.

Matching Envelope

Cooper wanted to try on the scarf too. I think it really brings out his eyes. :)

Photo Friday :: Water ::

This weeks chapter in Photo Op was called "In the Water." We are clearly not in the right season in the mid-west to be in the water, so I just did my photo on the word water. Our cat, Buddy, came to mind, because he has a strange way of drinking his water. Instead of lapping up the water with his tongue as most animals do, he scoops up the water with his paw and brings it to his mouth. He's a strange cat, but that's why we love him. :)

:: Valentine's Day ::

Valentine's Day - some love it, some hate it, but it comes every year, so however commercial it may be, why not embrace it. Let it be a day to remind those you love, whoever they are, that you love them.

Every year my mom lets my sisters and I know that she loves us by sending us fun little packages in the mail. When, I saw it sitting in the mailbox today, I thought "Man, I love that woman!" I already know that she loves me, but she took the time to send me something special which means a lot. And that's what Valentine's day is all about - taking a little extra time to let someone know you care.

Mike and I don't spend much for Valentine's Day, but we usually get each other a little something. This year, Mike had chocolate covered strawberries (my fav!) delivered to me a work. They were a day early which made it even more of a surprise. :)

On our first Valentine's Day together, he wrote down for me everything we had done together in our first months as a couple. That was the best gift that he could ever give me because I have a horrible long term memory, and those are the little details of life that I really want to remember. So this year, I made what he wrote into a book using mixbook.com and added some highlights from the last 3 years as well.

 I also made him this silly little card to go with it.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Whether you are single, in a relationship, or even if you have been hurt by love in the past, remember there are always people in your life who love you - don't forget to take time to show them you care. (And that's my PSA for today :) )

Photo Friday :: Jump Shots ::

 

I really loved this weeks photo project.  Mike was my assistant and took the photos under my direction. (Thanks Mike!) When, I read the assignment, I immediately thought of Natsumi Hayashi, a Japanese photographer. For over a year, she posted a different picture every day of her "levitations."

yowayowacamera.com

I had her photographs in mind when doing my own levitation photo. I would love to do this again! Here's one more from my photo shot.

It was fun, but I must have ran and jumped over 40 times. Man, did my legs feel it the next morning!

:: Newborn Shoot ::

I couple weeks ago, I did my first newborn photo shoot. I had an adorable little model named Ellie. I had fun thinking up different poses and props. Here's a picture of all the stuff I brought with me...minus the cat :)

I was nervous at first because Ellie was just 10 days old, and I hadn't held a baby that small in a long time. I didn't take me long to get comfortable and begin snapping away. Usually when people visit a baby, they want it to be awake, and it seems like the baby is always asleep. In this case, wanted the baby to be asleep, so of course, she was wide awake. It was ok though because I got some photos of her pretty little eyes as well as some pictures with her parents.

 Her mom finally got her to sleep. Then, in was a matter of keeping her asleep. Having a warm heater blowing on her definitely helped.  (Thanks to her Daddy for helping out with that!)

They are big Cardinals fans, so I got some fun pictures with some Cards gear.

I made a little newborn hat as a prop for the photos. I actually made two because the first one I made turned out too small. The second one fit her perfectly though.

The other prop I made was a balloon with her name, birthday, and measurements on it. I thought it would be a fun way to document these things in the photo. It turned out to be one of my favorite photos that I took that day.

My other favorites were the close ups of her sweet little face.

The photo shoot wasn't all sweet though. No newborn shoot is complete without a little pee and poo. The latter happened all over her Dad's leg! All that aside,  I can't wait for my next newborn shoot. Does anyone know anyone who's pregnant? :)

:: Inspiration = Frost ::

This month Sarah choose the word :: Frost :: Sarah and Carly both went with a frosted glass project, while I had had an itching to use my new sewing machine, so I made some pajama pants for those frosty winter nights.

Sarah made a cute container as a gift to her friend (and future maid of honor!). She had a little snag along the way but it turned out to be a happy accident. You can read about how she made it on her blog Living Sagely.

I made some cotton flannel pajama pants with a snowflake print using some pajama pants that I already had as a pattern. I used this tutorial that I found online to help me out. 

 I ironed the my favorite pjs, folded them in half and traced around them adding two inches to the top and bottom. I did it again for the other side. Then, cut out the fabric and sewed each leg up to the crotch. The crotch was the most difficult part. I think I could definitely do it better next time.

Then, I pinned the legs together and sewed up the front and back. I stitched buttonholes for the drawstring, then folded the hem down and sewed down the top. I put a ribbon in for a drawstring by putting a safety pin on the end of the ribbon to help guide it through.

The last step was hemming up the legs, and they were ready to wear!

Carly also gave her frost project as a gift. She etched initials into a glass and put it in an alcohol themed gift basket for her Brother-in-Law's birthday. Here's how she describes working on her project:

Supplies:

Glass (I used a Jack Daniels glass)

Glass cleaner

Stencil that transfers

Armour Etch

Paint Tape

Paint brush

Gloves

Clean the glass thoroughly before you start.  Begin by placing the stencil on the glass and using a tongue depressor to transfer the stencil onto the glass.  Once the stencil is on the glass use paint tape to make a frame around the stencil – keep in mind that any visible glass will be etched.  

Use a paint brush to apply the Armour Etch to the glass.  Wait 60 seconds – any longer and the etching may bleed under the stencil. Rinse the glass in the sink and clean with glass cleaner…and you are DONE!  It was surprising easy, and I used the etched glass in a basket/birthday present for my Brother-in-Law.  He was so inspired that he has decided to join our creative group!

Next month's word - REFLECTION!

Photo Friday :: Redscale ::

Redscale is a film process where the film is wound in the canister backwards exposing the back of the film instead of the front creating bold reds, oranges and yellows. Although one day it might be fun to go back and do this whole process, for this weeks Photo Friday post I used Photoshop to create the same effect. Some diehard photographers may say that this is cheating, but I say it's just using the tools available. :)