Laura's Daily Madness

Dinosaur Activities that make for great photo ops!

2011-03-28T11:38:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that Ramona’s new kit ‘Rawrasaurus’ reminded me of one of my favorite units when I was teaching, DINOSAURS!! Kids just seem to love these extinct guys! There are plenty of fun things to do and learn with dinosaurs. I thought I’d share a few with you today.

Dinosaur Books

Any good unit of study is going to be based on some fun and informative literature! Children authors know how much kids love dinosaurs so there are TONS of both fiction and non fiction stories out there. Check out your library for some of these awesome titles!

Books are a perfect thing to add to Easter baskets!! Photograph your child reading or being read to. Write down their favorite facts or favorite dinosaurs. Have them draw a dinosaur picture and take pictures to add to your layout.

Dino Land

One of the first things I always did was cover a table with green paper and let the kids create a prehistoric land that the dinosaurs would live in. You can get some green wrapping paper for pretty cheap or a $1 green table cloth from the dollar or party supply store. That and a pack of construction paper is probably all your little creator needs. But lets say you add some sand, grass and some other accessories, you can come up with a pretty awesome dino land! Then once the kids were all done, we released the dinosaurs! They were so excited and spent HOURS playing over there when their work was complete.

Take photos while your child(ren) put it together and while they are playing. Document some of the things they are saying and the stories they are acting out.

Dino Mask

Have your child create their own dinosaur mask!You can print out a mask here. You can also just use a paper plate or paper. You might even get brave and delve into plaster of paris! Take photos while your child makes and wears their mask.

Make Them Life size!!

Look up facts about how big the dinosaurs were or how big their foot prints were and draw them to scale using side walk chalk and your driveway or street. This really makes the sizes come to life to older children. Take photos of your children drawing their dinos and standing beside them for size comparison!

I hope these activities get your imagination going on some activities to do with your own dinosaur lover!

What should you be doing in your garden now?

2011-03-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

This warm weather is really getting me excited for summer time! This summer is going to be great because we are going to have TONS of fresh veggies from our garden. We're trying square foot gardening for the first time so I'm hoping we have great results! A few weeks ago we weeded, filled up our other bed we've never used and covered with trash bags:

Here in Oklahoma the official last day of frost scare is April 15 but the planting guide gave me the ok on a few different veggies. I noticed most of them were bottom growing plants.

So we planted carrots, green onions, yellow onions and turnips. For square foot gardening, carrots and onions are both 16 per square feet and the turnips are 6. I planted 2 seeds at a time in hopes that one of them at least would grow.

We also planted sweet peas and lettuce. I planted two sweet peas per square foot along the back so we can build something for them to grow up. And two lettuce across the front to take up the extra space.

After we planted everything, I covered everything back up until they sprout. The black plastic is supposed to help warm up the soil and help germinating.

It will be a month before we can continue our planting but for now, we're excited to see how our first batch of planting goes!

A fun (and easy) toddler art activity!

2011-03-07T16:54:00.001-08:00

Its been awhile since I posted! Kids have been sick and things have been busy. Surprise, surprise right? My husband is currently working a later than normal evening shift leaving me to cook dinner with two kids and no help. So I’ve been looking for 20 minute art activities for Rett to do in the afternoon so I can clean up the kitchen and do some pre-cooking prep to make things go easier later on. Here is a great activity that I ran across that I’d like to share!

Recommended age: 2.5+

Supplies needed:

paper

food coloring

eye dropper

small plastic containers filled with water

Directions: put 3 or 4 drops of food color into each plastic container. I recommend using colors that are brighter because there is some color mixing going on. Orange and yellow.. probably not a good choice.

After this its more of what your toddler/child does. They use the eye dropper to suck up the colored water and drip it onto their blank paper.

I did this with my 26 month old. He did not get it. He LOVED stabbing the water with the eye dropped but couldn’t grasp the concept of having to squeeze the eye dropper to get the water into it and squeeze to get it out. I had to help him a bit with his art. He still enjoyed himself. This could also be a great mixing colors lessons for home schoolers. Also great to work on fine motor and hand muscle building for special needs children or children with messy handwriting.

Here is before we started.

Here is our finished product!

Project 365- My Week in Photos!

2011-02-25T06:45:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe March is almost here! Just when the weather finally got warm enough to give me hope, its cold again today. Spring can’t come soon enough!

We went to the zoo with mom group. Beautiful weather! Rett had a fun time running around with all the toddlers.

My Coke replacement. I started drinking Crystal Light instead and dropped 3 pounds. Then Mom stocked me up in Coke again later in the week. I refuse to buy it for myself so unless she enables me, I don’t have it. Luckily my mom is a GREAT enabler!

We got the garden ready for planting! Rett loved to watch Daddy shoveling. He thought it was hilarious. I also baked some clearance Valentine’s brownies. .80 well spent!

Finished Sissy’s easter lamb hat. This pattern also has a jumper that goes with it so it may transform into her Halloween costume if she can still fit into it. The yarn is rather stretchy so I think we should be good! I attached one of her bows to the ear to make it even cuter.

Sissy sneezed while eating. I absolutely hate baby food. So annoying. She started eating pancakes for breakfast the last two days so hopefully the gross cereal phase is over!

Went to the zoo again. Twice in one week? Of course! This time with Jenna, Lucas and Joseph. Jenna also brought her friend Molly and her two boys. It started off pretty cool but it warmed up and ended up being a great day.

I left the window open because we had a thunderstorm and wanted Rett to see the rain. Sissy wanted to watch too so she climbed onto the drums. Its amazing how much faster she is doing things than Rett did. I’m not sure that’s a good thing either!

So that was our week! Today we are going to a bounce place so that should make for some fun photography!

Let them eat cake.. or anything else!

2011-02-22T19:39:00.001-08:00

Every time I see a photographer using food within their photos and everyone is talking about how clever that was and wow what a nice pop of color, I just snicker. Because I know the truth. Eating food keeps kids still. No one REALLY expects kids to smile while eating. Kids are happy when eating things that are full of sugar. I haven’t seen many photos of children eating carrots or broccoli. I suppose out there somewhere they could exist.

Honestly food photography is ingenious. When you are photographing babies (especially after they start smiling) you have the easiest job in the world. Babies are naturally cute, they don’t move much and they LOVE attention they gain from smiling. Then they start moving. And they never want to stop. Give the same kid a cake to smash when they turn 1 and you get this:

Of course broadening your horizons is always nice. I had a session the other day and it was a 1 year old. The mom didn’t want to do a cake smash. Its funny how moms NEVER think cake smashes sound like a fun thing. Messy, cake mess. That’s what the moms think about. Or maybe the purple poo that follows.

Of course then you miss out on this. And if you ever wondered why my fake flooring is died blue, mystery solved. Noah was totally worth it though.

Well since this mom (like all the other sane mothers) didn’t want to do a cake smash, I decided to use some of those yummy strawberries we had in the fridge.

Sometimes those quick ideas turn out very cute. And she kept still. Isn’t she a doll?

I have yet to try ice cream, cotton candy, popsicles or glasses of kool aid but they are on my ‘to photograph’ list. Along with carrots and broccoli. So if you find yourself having a difficult time getting your toddler to sit still, bring out the goodies.

Just remember to take the white shirt off first.

How does your garden grow?

2011-02-21T18:54:00.001-08:00

Two years ago.. ok maybe 3 I lose count, we built some raised beds relatively cheaply with some lumber from Lowe’s. Honestly we have yet to have a great gardening season. We’ve grown TONS of tomatoes but not much else. While its really cold outside on some days, the sneak peaks of spring weather have been showing their lovely heads reminding us that planting season is right around the corner.

So this weekend we tackled our garden beds. Last year I was pregnant during planting season and I had a toddler so we didn’t even ATTEMPT a garden.

So here’s what our garden looked like at this point. Right now is a great time to weed out those gardens before the greenery comes through and you’ve got to really use some muscle. We pulled all the dead grass, weeds and tomato plants out of the garden.

Not really sure why but Rett thought Tom’s shoveling was HILARIOUS. He cracked up every time Tom jumped on the shovel. So cute. After we pulled up all the mess, Tom went ahead and shoveled up the dirt and then raked out the huge clumps of roots and to stir up the soil.

We also found some worms! Yay for worms!

We went ahead and added about eight bags of topsoil to the bed. We over bought top soil last year so that was convenient. Then we used trash bags and stapled them to the sides and weighted down the middle with rocks and sticks to keep the weeds and grasses from getting their seeds started before we’re ready to plant.

Right now is a great time to start seedlings indoors. Egg cartons make great plant starters and they also sell those cheap starter kits at Lowe’s. You can also plant onions, potatoes and radishes right now! We’re planning on having an above ground garden and an under ground garden so time to get that one started!

I know in Oklahoma we cannot actually plant most veggies outdoors until mid April because of late season frost being a concern. There are tons of sites out there for growing and planting tips specific to your area.

When planning out what you are going to plant this year, consider things you often buy at the grocery store. You can save tons of cash by providing your own fresh produce. Your meals will be healthier and you can also give some free produce to friends when you’ve got too many goodies. There are also programs to plant a garden for the homeless and donate your harvest.

I’m excited to see how our garden grows this year!

P365 My week in photos!

2011-02-18T05:04:00.001-08:00

Someone has been here! Little animal tracks in the snow.

Tom’s brother George came to visit on his way to Wyoming where he’s going to be living for awhile. He met Evie for the first time and saw Rett for the first time in over a year. It was nice to visit but it was too short!

We took the kids outside to play. It was in the near 60’s with snow on the ground still. Rett kept falling down so Tom dug him a path from the house to his toys.

Everyone dressed up in red for Valentine’s Day to support our heart families.

And suddenly its warm! It was in the 70’s. Rett also went back to Mother’s Day Out. Evie and I had a good girl’s day together.

We went to Krispy Kreme with mom group to take the tour. You have to wear the little hat in the back for health reasons and Rett refused so instead of taking the tour, we just ate a donut. Sissy liked the hat though!

This is actually the same day as Krispy Kreme but I had to share because I don’t get to take sleeping pictures of him very often.

Yesterday I received my big wall prints from WHCC. You know what they say about kids and empty boxes. This is when Rett first noticed the new family picture up on the wall. He pointed at it and said ‘Daddy! Mama!’

So.. that was our week! Today we are headed to the zoo so I better go get ready!

Cameraversary!

2011-02-17T06:50:00.001-08:00

Today marks two years since me and my lovely camera joined forces to capture as much of my children’s childhood as possible. We are the unstoppable duo, just ask poor Rett who has been forced to sit through hours of photo sessions. And even though I’d had my eye on the 5d Mark II, I think I will keep my faithful friend as a back up. We’ve had some good times!

Our two years together in review:

We captured a lot of firsts.

We captured ducks .

We captured friends that are no longer with us.

We captured bunny ears.

and friends that have moved away.

We captured happy moments

and some that gave us chills.

We captured painted Easter feet

first times on the beach.

We captured ourselves as a family.

and naked baby bottoms.

We started getting serious.

Enjoyed some summer days together.

And some fall days together.

We captured first birthdays.

And my baby bump.

We captured spring flowers.

Cute little bottoms.

We captured bigger baby bumps.

The last day we were a family of 3.

We captured a 2 day old little girl that is ours.

and some family time in bed.

We captured a baby turning into a toddler.

And traveling long distances to meet some new friends.

And another fall with some adorable little pumpkins.

We captured accomplishments big and small.

and half a year with our baby girl.

lots of snow!

We captured our family.

Its been a great 2 years, camera!

A Printable Freebie for You!

2011-02-14T18:44:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I had a fabulous one. First I dressed my family:

We all dressed in red to support our heart families. Sissy’s shirt says ‘I Love You Cherry Much’. That about sums this picture up.

We went to swim school and had some yummy Italian. The kids opened up some presents my mother in law sent them via George.

Sissy got one of those awesome bibs like Rett has. It even has a little loop to hold the spoon for on the go feeding. Awesome!

Rett matched the bow so that was cool. Trains! Awesome!

So Mara’s newest release is too adorable! She calls it Froot and Veggies and its full of fun elements and bright colors. Here is a preview:

Here are the layouts I created using this fun kit!

And I also created this fun little book:

You can download it here!

Here is what you’ll need to put your book together:

printed out pages

scissors

velcro

stapler

Step 1:

Print on cardstock, laminate if desired and cut pieces.

Step 2:

Place Velcro on the back of the fruits and veggies and on the places within the book where you apply them.

Step 3:

Staple your book together. I also recommend getting a snack bag and stapling that on the back of the book to hold the pieces.

So then your child reads (or has you read) the different clues in the book and attaches the correct photo to the clue using the velcro.

And you are done! Pay no attention to my water damage. Hasn’t been dealt with yet.

So there you go! These little books are perfect for car rides and waiting rooms! Enjoy!

Setting Up an At Home Studio

2011-02-14T06:19:00.001-08:00

This weekend I learned:

Some people should come visit a lot more often. Uncle George (Tom’s brother) came to visit on his way to Wyoming. He had never met Evie before and it had been over a year since he saw Rett. He came through the door and Rett ran up to him and gave him a hug. That boy has great judge of character skills

Its not everyday you can go play outside with no jacket on with snow on the ground. We had temperatures in the near 60’s and the snow was still sticking around but barely.

Ok onto setting up your home studio. I think people sometimes see my photos and think I have some awesome set up with a room that’s painted in some funky artsy color with lots of my photos on the walls and lots of expensive equipment. Um. Right. That’s just my dream world. I would LOVE to have a devoted CLOSED off space where I could do my photos but I have a loft upstairs.

When I first bought my camera (2 years ago in 3 days!!!) I did lots of mock sessions with Rett using sheets on the wall. I then moved on to using paper meant for bulletin boards that I borrowed from my school. And finally I did a session for a daycare and actually bought some real paper and my seamless stand. So here is what my ‘studio’ looks like.

Ok so here is my studio. I have a wide angle lens (thankfully) so I can get all this in. What you are looking at here is, a white roll of Savage Seamless permanently mounted on the wall. A transportable seamless stand with some chestnut Savage paper on it. There’s a bamboo carpet saver office rug that I bought off ebay and under that is a piece of shower board from Lowe’s. Real ritzy right?

When I first set up my studio I bought a big roll of savage white. We went to Lowe’s and bought a curtain rod set, mounted it on the wall and then hung my white paper up. I use clamps to keep it from unrolling. I also have a piece of black muslin that I can clip up there to change it from black. I figure black and white should be accessible at all times easily.

The day care session really moved me forward on getting some decent looking studio stuff. I ordered this rug off ebay for about $50. Bought the wall molding from Lowe’s for about $3, the stand was more expensive, I think around $125 and one roll of smaller seamless in a blue shade, I want to say ocean?

This is one of the photos I did for that session.

I wish I would have taken a photo of the windows I’m working with upstairs but oh well. I do all natural lighting and I fill with my speedlite. I use my reflector to bounce the light back onto my studio because the light angles over to the right side as you can see by the sunburst there. This room works much better in the morning then in the afternoon.

So here is my studio buy list:

I also own these colors of seamless:

I prefer to buy my colored seamless in the 53” because I can’t permanently mount all of them which means I am switching them out constantly. This size is still pretty large for a shortie like me but I can manage by myself. They also fit in the car more nicely then the huge white that I own. It is difficult to photograph children because you are constantly running out of paper but most people who have an at home studio just don’t have the space to devote to all that paper.

I hope you got some ideas on setting up your own at home studio! There is a bit of a cost to start out but when you think of the money you are saving from not buying your photos elsewhere, you recoup your cost pretty quickly.

Give away winners!

2011-02-11T06:02:00.001-08:00

I'm drawing for the give aways today! If you haven't got your comments in, its now or NEVER! If you are the winner, please e mail me at lauraleahayes@yahoo.com. You have until February 25 to get in touch with me!

I'm drawing one an hour so keep checking back for updates here!

Bethany 5's hat- Lindsay
Ashley's Bow- Shelly
Jessica Rae Jewelry $20 credit- Bethany
Braylin's Boutique Fabric Flowers- Michelle
The Picket Fence $20 credit- Ashley P.
WendyBird Calendar and Wreath- Melissa
Hugs and Stitches Sock Monkey Hat- Jen Wells

Project 365- My week in photos!

2011-02-11T05:43:00.001-08:00

This week was MUCH better than last week. We had no cars getting stuck in the snow and no water pipes bursting! Yay! Here’s what we did have:

Saturday- Valentine photos of Evie and Rett and I got our homemade Valentine’s done

I really want to work with this green background more. I’ve had mixed results with skin tones using this. Looks great with Sissy’s perfect complexion.

Sunday- Made my crafts for the blog

Monday- Celebrated getting the shower ALMOST finished. We still need to wipe off MORE excess grout so we can seal it and then it will actually be done.

Tuesday- Went to Hobby Lobby with mom and the kids and got craft supplies. Came home and made my bow board.

Wednesday- Rett and I made chocolate chip cookies. Rett wanted to eat the batter out of the bowl instead of baking them. But in the end, he was glad he waited.

Also, more Valentine’s photos of Evie. This may be one of my most favorite photos of all time.

Thursday- Rett in his plastic cabinet. Every kid needs a plastic cabinet right? We keep all sorts of toddler friendly unbreakables here. Also his plates and bowls. He loves to throw everything out and make a big mess.

And now its today. I didn’t take many pictures of the kids this week just doing everyday stuff. Since the snow is out we haven’t been doing very many exciting things but next week should be different!

Give Away #8 Sock Monkey Hat from Hugs and Stitches!

2011-02-09T06:54:00.001-08:00

CLOSED- Winner was #6 Jen Wells!

Lora, the owner of Hugs and Stitches, is a good friend of mine. We have some mutual friends on Facebook is how we first met. She has two adorable little girls and she makes the cutest hand sewn items! Here are some of the things you can find in her shop:

Her give away is for one of her adorable sock monkey hats! You can choose pink or regular! Hats will be in your choice, newborn to child size.

Those are so adorable! I want a set for Rett and Evie!

So here are the ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each step you finish. So if you do all 5, you should have 5 comments!

1. Leave a comment about Lora’s products here.

2. Follow my blog.

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Like Lora’s page here and leave her some wall love.

5. Share on your facebook page or blog or in another forum!

I’ll be drawing in TWO DAYS! Good luck!

Make yourself a bow holder!

2011-02-09T05:57:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to bed with the idea that we would be receiving lots of snow last night. Tom didn’t know if he was going to be able to make it into work and I was looking forward to another day of him typing away on the couch. This morning we get up, it has hardly snowed. The online forecast is still calling for 10-12 inches. Its times like these when I think having the ability to watch the news might be nice.

We do have a tv. It just doesn’t work besides watching Wall E and the Polar Express. It only plays DVD’s. You know back when we were going to digital there was this channel you could switch to. It was supposed to say if your television was ready to move on over. The channel lied. As soon as digital came in our television ceased to function. Oh well. We watch a lot of netflix and you can still get Grey’s on abc.com so what more do I need. Besides an updated weather report? There’s always the radio though right?

I have to admit that the project for today was stolen from the adorable bow boards that Braylin’s Boutique and The Picket Fence create. You don’t have to feel bad about not buying one from them however because I’m pretty sure these do NOT ship all that well. Or cheaply. I might be surprised in that? Here are some of the adorable bow boards Tanae and Cassie have created:

Aren’t they adorable? And thus, I was inspired. At first I wanted to paint a bow board. I asked Tom if he thought wall molding cut at a 45 degree angled and then nailed together would work for a frame. He said no. I also couldn’t figure out what the girls had used for backing. Looks like wall molding, but not sure. Plus I know what my paint jobs look like, so I abandoned this idea to the professionals. Cassie and Tanae, hats off to you girls.

But I think my bow board came out looking pretty durn cute!

And today I will share all my secrets on how you can make your own!

Here is your supply list:

1 frame Doesn’t really matter what size. Mine was 38x18 or something like that

cloth to cover it I bought a yard and a half but it was overboard. I probably have enough cloth to do another small frame.

ribbon These were each 3 yards. I definitely had an overstock of that also

stapler DO NOT USE A STAPLE GUN I thought this was a great excuse to use my husband’s staple gun.. don’t. There is now a hole in the train table. Just use the normal stapler.

The first step is to undo all the prongs and release the piece of cardboard that your frame came with. This is what you will wrap your cloth around.

Next, wrap your cloth around your cardboard and cut away the excess.

Next you can go ahead and staple the fabric around your cardboard. I’d love to tell you the scientific process that went into this but I just sort of folded and stapled until the fabric was secure. You want to make sure you are stretching it tight of course so you don’t end up with rolls. Also make sure the tops and bottoms aren’t too bulky because it has to fit back into your frame. I stapled three or four times up and down the sides and then folded the tops and bottoms and stapled them to the cloth.

You need to decide if you want your ribbon to go vertical or horizontal. Then pull your ribbon across your board and cut to size.

Now I stapled the ribbon on the back also. I let the ribbon on the pretty side be up straight so the staple back would fall behind the ribbon and be hidden. When I did the other side, I slipped the stapler under the ribbon so it was still hidden.

So continue doing that until you’ve got all the rows you want. I really could have done mind closer together. Also if you have a lot of bang bows or newborn clips you may want to consider doing some thin ribbon strips in between because they don’t really require all that much space anyway.

After all your ribbons are done, you need to pop the glass out of your frame. I ended up breaking mine to get it out so be careful! Then pop your cardboard in and put the prongs back down to hold it into place.

And then you’ll be done! You can attach a hanger on the back to put it on the wall. Mine is so tall I’m just going to lean it up against the wall. Now my bows are all safe and sound from getting squished or messed up!

This project took me maybe 30 minutes? It definitely wasn't as cheap as our other crafts but not 'too' bad.

Frame- $15 (it was 50% off from 30)

Fabric- $6 (40% off)

Ribbon- $4 (50% off)

Total: $25 plus I have enough ribbon and cloth left over to do another small frame for a gift!

Don’t forget to sign up for my give aways! I’m drawing in two days!

Give Away #7 WendyBird Designs Calendar and Wreath!

2011-02-08T06:49:00.001-08:00

CLOSED- Winner was #14 Melissa!

I’ve known Wendy as a scrapper for a long time but earlier last year she decided to go into designing hybrid templates! Her hybrids were always so amazing so its no surprise, her templates are too. Here are a few of Wendy’s templates in her shop:

I love all the creative things she comes up with! Here are some cards I’ve created using her designs:

Today Wendy has TWO items up to win! An adorable hybrid pocket calendar she created and a wreath!

These would make beautiful little Valentine’s gift for a friend.. or for yourself!

Please leave 1 comment for each step you complete! So if you complete 4 steps, you should have 4 separate comments!

1. Leave a comment with some love for Wendy.

2. Follow my blog. (If you already follow just put ‘I already follow you’ as your comment’)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. ‘Like’ Wendy’s facebook page here and leave her some wall lovin.

5. Share this give away on your facebook page or blog.

I’ll be drawing on Friday! Good luck!

Valentine’s Doggy Treats!

2011-02-08T06:42:00.001-08:00

Last night Tom and I toasted our beautiful new shower with some champagne and pizza. Yum. I have a hangover today but it was worth it. Sometimes stay at home date nights are better then going out date nights. I’m sure our children appreciated being put to bed at 6:30 also.

Our craft today is for our furry friends or our friends who’s ‘kids’ have four legs and require a leash. Here is your ingredient list:

2 cups of flour

1 1/4 cups of cheese

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup of water

2 garlic cloves finely chopped (optional)

food processor/blender

wax paper/rolling pin

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

First you are going to put in all your ingredients besides the water and turn on your mixer. You are going to mix it until it looks pretty coarse but mixed.

This is what it will end up looking like. Now you are going to SLOWLY add the water while the mixer is on a slow speed until it forms a ball.

This is what it looks like once you’ve added enough water. You may not need the entire cup but its nice to just have a reserve to keep adding until it’s the right mixture.

Go ahead and roll your dough out on your wax paper until it is about 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. This dough is very moist so I found it was better to roll one way, pick up my roller and then go the other way rather then back and forth.

I cut my treats out in heart shapes using the same cookie cutters I bought to make my Valentine Soap. You put these on an ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 15-18 minutes.

And there you have them! Easy, cheesy dog treats for your favorite furry friend!

I put my treats in this cute little treat holder made with Wendy’s template here and Ramona’s kits ‘Best Friends’. These would also be adorable to sell for fundraising for your local SPCA or animal shelter.

Here is a cute word art freebie I made to match our theme today:

You can download it here!

Don’t forget to sign up for all the give aways! I’m drawing this Friday!

Bethany 5’s adorable knit hat

Ashley’s Valentine Bow

JessicaRae’s Jewelry $20 credit to her shop

Braylin’s Boutique 3 fabric flowers

The Picket Fence $20 credit to her shop

Wendybird’s wreath and planner

Give Away #6 The Picket Fence

2011-02-07T07:47:00.001-08:00

CLOSED Winner is #38- Ashley!

Today’s give away is really a great one! Cassie, the owner of The Picket Fence, makes the most adorable bows! She and Tanae of Braylin’s Boutique work together creating matching dresses/bows and other adorable little match ups. Here are some of Cassie’s gorgeous creations:

Here are some of Evie in her The Picket Fence bows

Yes we own just a few

Cassie has offered up $20 in free bows for the winner! Please leave a separate comment for each entry! Here are all the ways to win:

1. Leave a comment with some love for Cassie’s adorable bows

2. Follow my blog (if you already follow, just post I already follow)

3. Subscribe to my blog

4. Like Cassie’s fan page here.

5. Share this give away on your facebook page or blog! Just post ‘I shared on my facebook page’.

Five chances to win! Winner will be drawn this Friday! Good luck!

Making Valentine Soap!

2011-02-07T07:30:00.001-08:00

This weekend I learned:

a 2 year old has an attention span exactly 4 homemade Valentine’s long

a cup makes great baby entertainment while you make the 4 Valentine’s

Baby knits make me want to be pregnant again

AND I learned how to make my own Valentine’s soap!

I am no Martha Stewart, people, so if I can make adorable little soaps, so can you!

Ingredient list:

wax paper

measuring cup

heart cookies cutters

loaf pan

microwave

32 oz of soap (Michaels 9.99, use a 40% off coupon)

box of soap dies (Michael’s 2.99)

First you are going to line your loaf pan. If you have more then one loaf pan, all the better! This project will go much faster that way. Go ahead and line 2 if you’ve got them.

Next you are going to need 1/2 pound of the soap. Mine was 32 oz so it was 2lbs so 1/4 of that. Cut it out using a knife and then cut each cube apart so they resemble ice cubes. Place into your measuring cup.

Put your measuring cup into the microwave and follow the directions on your soap package for melting. Mine was 40 seconds and then 10 seconds until melted. You have to sort of stir/cut up the chunks that gather in the center.

Pour melted soap into the loaf pan. Make sure your wax paper doesn’t get down and stick to the top of the melted soap. Press down on the paper and angle the loaf pan from side to side to allow the mixture to settle more evenly. It doesn’t matter if its not into every corner of the loaf pan but you do want it more spread out. Set your timer for 15 minutes and allow it to cool.

If you have a separate loaf pan, you can go ahead and get your second batch of soap melted too. If you don’t have a second loaf pan, you need to wait for the first one to be done and then make your second batch.

After 15 minutes, lift the wax paper out of the loaf pan and set aside.

Go ahead and make your second batch of soap the same way. This time we are going to dye it before pouring it into the loaf pan so after its all melted we are going to add in our red.

This is what I got 10 drops of red. I tried to make a lighter pink and even 4 drops got it pretty dark so if you are wanting a super light pink, start with just 1 or 2 drops.

Pour it into the pan and set timer for 15 minutes.

Now that the second batch is setting up, go ahead and cut out your hearts. I cut out as many large hearts as I could. Then you can use your smaller hearts to cut out from the centers of them to fill in with the other color. You’ll know when your wax is set enough because when you press your cutter into it, the wax should pick right up into the cutter. If it sticks to the rest of the wax, it isn’t cool enough yet.

So here’s what my first white soap ended up looking like. You can put the scraps back into your measuring cup and remelt to make more soap but you need to wait until you get this soap completely made and then do it separately.

Once your pink sets, go ahead and cut them out and then put the soaps together as you wish. You are fighting against time here. If the white gets too cool you can’t squish the two colors together and the smaller hearts will just fall right out.

If you have a second loaf pan, you can actually do 3 colors. If you don’t, the soap will NOT give you 30 minutes past when the first one is done to get 2 more batches finished. What I would recommend is doing 2 sets of 2 colors. Your second set might be white and purple or pink and purple.

And here are my soap. The soap says ages 9 and up but I assume that’s because of the heat. If you melt and pour the wax yourself, the little ones will love cutting out the hearts and arranging the soaps. There isn’t any heat left after the 15 minutes in the loaf pan.

This was a lot simpler then I thought it would be and got really cute results! You can also purchase scents from Michael’s to make a scented soap. The small hearts might also make good bath melting scents. All in all a fun, cheap, easy project that produces cute results!

Last week Mara released a new kit just in time for Valentine’s. Image is linked.

I love the blacks and whites paired with these bright vivid colors.

Here’s my layout using her awesome kit! And here’s the FREEBIE that I created to go along with it! Image is linked.

Don’t forget to enter in the awesome give aways for this week! I’m drawing on Friday!

Bethany 5’s adorable hat

Ashley’s Valentine Bow

JessiceRae Jewelry $20 credit to her shop

Braylin’s Boutique 3 fabric flowers

The Picket Fence $20 credit to her bow shop

Project 365- My week in photos!

2011-02-05T16:24:00.001-08:00

I got so caught up in our water issue that I forgot to post my week in photos! I’m sure you are all just dying to see them right!

Friday- Jenna and I took 4 kids 2 and under to the zoo. It was a really nice day outside and we all had a great time.

Saturday- More outside time! It was another beautiful day with a high of 75

Sunday- Tom spent the day finishing up the tile job.

Monday- My hands from scraping the extra grout off the tile.

Tuesday- The blizzard hits. Tom gets his car stuck on the on ramp and ends up walking 2 miles home in the blizzard. His hair is frozen. Curls up on the couch with warm tea.

Wednesday- Tom has to work from home. Rett thinks this is great! Our friend Kristi and her husband Jeremy come and pick up Tom and take him to his car so they can pull him out. He drives home happy that his precious car is now safe in the drive way.

Thursday- The water pipe breaks and we have to turn off the water.

So that was our week!

Give Away #5 Braylin’s Boutique!

2011-02-04T08:58:00.001-08:00

CLOSED Winner was #24- Michelle!

I met Tanae, owner of Braylin’s Boutique, at a local sale to benefit a teacher that taught with my mom and is now going overseas to expand literacy in other countries. And it turns out Tanae lives right down the road from me! She is a great gal with a lovely daughter and wonderful, quality products. Here are some examples of her products:

This is Evie in one of Tanae’s pettiskirts!

So one of her CUTEST products are her adorable fabric flowers. Each one is unique. Here are some of her fabric flowers:

You can put these in your or your babies’ hair, on your diaper bag on clipped to a hat. So adorable! Tanae is giving away 3 of these, you pick the colors!

Ok so I know you are anxious to enter. Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry. So 1 comment saying ‘I follow your blog’ then a separate comment for ‘I ‘liked’ Braylin’s Boutique’ Thanks!

Ok here are the ways you can enter:

1. Leave a comment with some love for Tanae’s products.

2. Follow my blog

3. Subscribe to my blog

4. Like Braylin’s Boutique here and leave her some wall love!

5. Share this give away somewhere! Either on your facebook page or your own blog. There is a share button at the bottom of this page or just cut/paste the address of my blog.

5 ways to enter = 5 separate comments! The more you do, the more chance you have to win these adorable fabric flowers! Good luck! Winners will be drawn on the 11th.

Valentine Craft: Catnip Heart

2011-02-04T08:42:00.001-08:00

Snow is not fun. All the childhood memories in the world cannot dissuade me. Yesterday we heard the stomach dropping sound of water. Because one of our pipes froze and exploded. When this happens to you, you really wish there was a rewind button. Like can I just go back to the time before stupid mother nature flipped me the bird. Please. Unfortunately it is what it is.

And this is what it is. A hole in our ceiling. Water damage and a hole in Evie’s wall treatment. Did I mention that the pipe was not even in Evie’s wall so there is now a HOLE IN HER WALL TREATMENT for nothing. For nothing. Wow.

I took all these beautiful photos to show off the snow but now I hate it. But I will share them anyway.

And another 3 to 4 inches on Sunday. Great. I can’t contain the excitement. The Hard Rock Café and our local aquarium’s roof collapsed in some parts. It could be worse.

Ok so on to more happier things.

Like Evie eating blueberries for dessert.

And here’s one of Rett. My kids love blueberries! Wow they look identical.

Ok onto our craft for today. I would like to blame the blizzard for some of my craft’s lacking. But on with the show.

Supply list:

A hear container (bought this one at Michael’s for $1)

Pink sponges (check the dollar store)

Seed packet

You could also use panty hose filled with dirt if you don’t want to go with a sponge.

First off, I planned on this craft being a cat nip garden for your favorite cat lover or for your feline friend. Couldn’t find cat nip. Wal Mart looked like it was Black Friday with everyone grabbing everything in sight. Apparently deep cleaning was in the plans too because there were like NO sponges left. These curved sponges did NOT work so well. Get the plain jane ones.

Your next step will be to cut your sponge so that it fits inside your heart mold. Your sponge will probably do a better job then mine since I had the odd shaped sponges. If you are really concerned with it looking pretty, this is where your old panty hose and dirt comes in.

You need to soak your sponge in water for about 1 minute so that its completely soaked through. Then poke your seeds into the little holes of the sponge. Unless you’re me and you only have marigold seeds which are huge and won’t be poked anywhere. *sigh*

And there you have it! Maintenance is just to pour in water to the basin of the container every 3-4 days. You can also start your veggies in sponges and then cut the sponge away and plant them sponge and all. So you could also put tomato seeds for your gardener friends or blooming flower seeds for the flower lover in your life.

Lots more crafts planned for next week! Make sure you follow and subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out!

ALSO, don’t forget to sign up for the give aways!

Bethany’s 5 Hat

Ashley’s Valentine Bow

JessicaRae’s $20 gift certificate for her jewelry

Braylin’s Boutique Fabric Flowers

Valentine Craft: Ribbon Bracelets!

2011-02-03T06:48:00.001-08:00

I wanted to share some of the photos that I’ve taken for my Photography For the Heart sessions. All proceeds are benefiting a family who just lost their daughter to congenital heart defect.

This was of course one of the last warm days before our blizzard hit. We had a great time taking the boys downtown. I was worried when I first heard it was going to be 4 boys but they all were such great guys it worked out just fine!

This is one from the studio. She made me work a tad bit harder. Nothing like 3 year olds to make you question your ability as a photographer. Of course my 2 year old does this everyday. I can’t tell you the last picture I had of him looking at the camera and smiling. Oh wait.. yes I can.

So there you go… Toddlers are definitely one of the most challenging subjects to photograph.

Ok onto more pressing matters… Valentine’s Day crafts! I love this craft because its another one of those great ways to use up excess craft supplies! Waste not, want not.

Here’s your supply list:

ribbon scraps

scissors

velcro strips

Your first step is going to be to use the ribbon to measure around your child’s wrist. Or your own if you want to rock some of these awesome bracelets for yourself. Cut ribbon to size.

Your next step is to place the velcro on. One of the velcro pieces needs to be on the underside of the bracelet (the ugly side). The other piece needs to be on the right side (pretty side) of the bracelet. On the thinner ribbon I had to cut my velcro in a half moon shape for it to fit. Also after taking mine off and on a bit, the velcro started to come detached. Hot glue might be of use here.

And you’re done! Final step is to put bracelets on and admire yourself!

I used scraps from my ribbon wreath.

Fun ideas for these: hole punch your Valentine’s cards, loop bracelets through and attach. Of course it won’t work with the thicker ribbon. Make bunches and put them on your little girl to wear to school to hand out. Nothing feels better then giving somebody else a little gift! Plus what little girl wouldn’t look adorable with about 50 of these on her arm.

And your congenital heart defect fact for the day. Think congenital heart defect is a small problem? About 650,000 to 1.3 million Americans have a congenital heart defect. Approximately 36,000 babies are born with a defect each year.

Don’t forget to enter the give aways!

Bethany 5’s hat

Ashley’s Valentine Bow

JessicaRae Jewelry $20 credit to her store

Give Away #3 Jessica Rae Jewelry Give Away!

2011-02-03T06:28:00.001-08:00

CLOSED Winner is #16- Bethany!

Today’s give away is to Jessica’s fabulous store which specializes in hand stamped jewelry! She makes personalized necklaces, bracelets and key chains. Also rings and cufflinks! Her stuff is so unique!

My fav:

Today’s give away is for $20 to Jessica’s store to order WHATEVER you want! How awesome is that? Also makes a great Valentine’s gift for grandma or yourself! Here are the ways you can enter, if you already follow or subscribe to my blog just leave a comment saying ‘I already follow you’:

1. Leave a comment with some love for Jessica.

2. Follow my blog.

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. ‘Like’ JessicaRae Jewelry here and leave her some wall love.

Winners will be drawn on the 11th!

Valentine’s Give Away #2 Valentine’s Bow from Ashley!

2011-02-02T07:05:00.001-08:00

CLOSED- Comment #25 won- Shelly!

Today’s give away was made by my good friend, Ashley. She also lives in Oklahoma. We met on an online baby board and just happen to live semi-close. We haven’t met yet but we keep making plans! One of these days, its gonna happen. Rett and Parker are the same age and its been fun sharing those crazy boy stories. Ashley lives on a wheat farm and always has fun stories of farm life! Here is her bow she is giving away:

Here’s how you win! Post a comment for each step you complete, if you already follow or subscribe to my blog, just leave a comment saying ‘I already follow you!’ or ‘I already subscribe!’

1. Just leave a comment. A little love for Ashley is nice!

2. Follow my blog.

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Follow Ashley’s blog here.

4 ways to enter! I’ll be drawing a winner for this on the 11th!

How to Make Valentine’s Hair Clips!

2011-02-02T07:00:00.001-08:00

So yesterday we were under a Blizzard warning. I don’t believe I have ever been under a blizzard warning before. I live in Oklahoma. I remember the Little House on the Prairie books and in one of them they put a string between the barn and the house so that when they go to tend the animals, they don’t get lost because of the snow. I used to think that snow like that just went with a different era. Sort of like the dinosaurs. But now I know its still happening because we got 14 inches of snow in one day.

That is the stack against the door. It doesn’t look like that now because I used it to make snow ice cream. Yum!

For our Congenital Heart Defect event for today I’d like to share a poem written by my friend Sandra Hanson. She has a little girl, Ashley, who was born with a heart defect on the same day I had Evie. She was scheduled for open heart surgery but the day before they found out Ashley’s heart had healed itself and she didn’t require it.

“A Mother”

A mother lays silently waiting,

Watching a tiny heart on a screen.

It beats full of hopes and dreams.

A mother lays silently dreaming,

Feeling little feet push on her belly.

Legs kick anticipating life.

A mother tosses and turns anxiously,

Counting down the hours to delivery.

Impatient to meet her new baby.

A mother lays on a cold table, numbed,

Straining to hear that first cry.

It comes, loud, full of life and promise.

A mother holds out her hand waiting,

Wanting to caress her new baby.

Velvet soft skin on a tiny little face.

A mother lays warm in bed,

Tucking her baby in beside her.

Relishing the smell of her hair.

A mother and baby drift off to sleep,

Both exhausted from their day.

Dreaming of the new life to begin.

A mother sits in bed stunned,

Doctors say there's something wrong.

A perfect baby with an imperfect heart.

A mother stands beside a bassinet,

Watching the baby within.

Pretending it's all a bad dream.

A mother cries in bed at night,

Holding her precious daughter.

Unable to help as she struggles to eat.

A mother sits shocked once again,

Dreaded words falling around her ears.

A failing heart inside a beautiful baby.

A mother ages years in a moment,

Living an unwelcome life in seconds.

Anger, worry and fear consuming.

A mother grieves and mourns her loss,

Dreams of a healthy baby, broken.

This unchosen new path is a fight.

A mother holds her baby near,

Crying broken prayers to God.

Begging for strength, healing and faith.

A mother feels tired and broken,

This road is harder than imagined.

Her baby gives her strength to go on.

A mother cries on a hallway floor,

Listening to tortured cries ringing.

Necessary evils performed.

A mother feels indignation rising,

People stare and whisper.

A yellow tube, sustaining life.

A mother feels her heart exploding,

She unwillingly, purposely causes pain.

Yet her baby smiles, showering love.

A mother lives through nightmares,

Imagining handing her baby over.

What to say when it might be goodbye?

A mother walks with her baby,

Down a dark, lonely road, unchosen.

No one knows.

A mother angry, she cries for her baby,

A tiny innocent suffering too much.

Her daughter's strength gives her faith.

A mother awed by her daughter,

An inspiration in a tiny package.

A tiny little mouth that always smiles.

A mother hopes for and fears a day,

Decisions are to be made by others.

Trying to remember God is in control.

A mothers stands silently waiting,

Watching a tiny heart on a screen.

It beats full of hopes and dreams.

A mother with tears coursing her face,

Holding her beautiful daughter.

An angel disguised as a baby in pink.

A mother now sobbing, unable to stop,

A lifetime lived in only six months.

Emotions released, held for too long.

A mother thinks of all they have lost,

Of what they have all suffered.

Of what they have all learned.

A mother thinks of all they've gained,

Friends made and prayers realized.

A lifetime of lessons learned.

A mother watches her baby crawl,

Finally able to enjoy her.

No monitoring, no medications to give.

A mother stands silently beside a crib,

Watching her baby sleep.

Humbled by the miracle within.

A mother then kneels and prays,

Thanking God for what He's given.

A broken heart, healed by grace.

You can check out Sandra’s book ‘Born with a Broken Heart’ which is a compilation of stories from families who have been touched by this birth defect. Thank you Sandra for letting me share!

Today’s craft is Valentine’s hair clips! Here is your supply list:

glue gun

1 package of hair clips ($2 at Michael’s for 6, might be cheaper at Wal Mart of the dollar store but I was fighting the snow)

1 package of foam hearts

First you are going to plug in your glue gun so that it can heat up. Totally random but glue guns are SO cheap these days. I bought the glue and the gun for a total of $5 at wal mart. Wow. Anyway, while your glue gun is heating up you can start experimenting with your clips and hearts to see what designs you want to do. I recommend using a larger foam piece to cover the far left side as it has the largest silver piece to cover. Make sure you are gluing only on the top and not the under part that pops open or it won’t open and you will have some issues. I also applied glue to the foam itself and put hearts on top of the cupcake that way.

Next, start gluing! This shows you how I used the large foam heart to cover up the large silver area. I then glued the small heart to the side of it to finish up.

Ta da!!!! Here it is finished! After the glue sets, you can pull all the hangy strings off and you are done! How simple IS that? And these would be adorable as a matching set for a certain girl and her besties. You can also clip these to Valentine’s to add a little extra for special friends.

And here are my finished masterpieces! I thought they came out super cute! Another simple, cheap and easy project! I bought this package of foam pieces for $2 and the clips were also $2. I have plenty of hearts left over so if you can score more for less somewhere else, you could make probably 20 or so from the one package of foam. Definitely enough for a class or two of girls. I am keeping 1 for Evie and giving the rest away to the first 5 comments WITH e mail address so I can figure out where to send these cuties.

Yesterday Ramona released this awesome kit: The image is linked.

I love these colors and elements. Perfect for a new home, remodel project or any at home family pics. Here is my layout:

And some free word art!

You can pick it up here!

Make sure you enter in the Valentine’s Give Aways!!

Bethany’s 5 hat

Ashley’s Valentine Bow

Give away #1 Bethany’s 5 Pigtail Hat!

2011-01-31T18:25:00.001-08:00

CLOSED- Winner is comment #15- Lindsay!!!!

Our first give away is from Bethany’s 5. She creates adorable photo props, Halloween costume hats or just hats for your kids to wear around and be super cute anyway. You can find her on Facebook here.

Here are a few of my favs that she has created:

A lamb. Wow. I want that for Evie’s Easter pics pretty badly. Ok so this is what you guys can win!

This is Bethany’s new pig tail hat. This is what she has to say about it. “I am calling this hat "pig tail fringe" in pink and red. It is a perfect photo prop with 4 different way s to get different looks. The hat can be used with no decorations or you can button on the INCLUDED items in different combos to get more looks. Button through the flower and then into any crochet hole with either side of the button showing or button on with out the flower for a more simple option. Please remember this hat has longer fringe strings and is intended for photo prop use only. Hat should always be used with adult supervision. Size Infant (15-16 inches around)

All right so if you want to win this adorable hat, there are several ways you can enter yourself into the drawing. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. I will be drawing winners Friday the 11th!

1. Leave a comment about your favorite hat of Bethany’s.

2. Go ‘like’ her on facebook here.

3. Follow my blog.

4. Subscribe to my blog.

5. Go add one of her items (or her entire shop) to your favorites here. Then post on what item you favorited.

5 chances to win per person! Good luck!

Countdown to V-Day begins! Come join the fun!

2011-01-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s is one of my favorite holidays. Maybe its all the pink, I’m not really sure. Anyway to celebrate I pulled together a list of my favorite people to do some give aways, I have tons of do it yourself Valentine’s crafts to decorate with or give as gifts and I will also be posting facts about CHD (Congenital Heart Defect) because awareness week is coming up.

Did you know CHD is the #1 birth defect in newborns? I didn’t. But now I do. Right now I am hosting photography sessions to benefit a family affected by CHD. In fact they just lost their darling daughter to it after she spent her little life in the NICU. Every memory, every day being in the NICU. You can do something too! Sell heart cookies, knit up some heart dish cloths, create some heart soap. Its when we think that we are too small to make a difference that we are that small. If nothing else, go donate blood. Every CHD baby that has an open heart surgery needs it! You CAN make a difference.

Today’s give away is from Bethany’s 5. It is an adorable little hat. I will post it separately so I can link directly to each give away post everyday. So make sure you check it out here.

Ok on to the craft. First let me tell you that I am NOT crafty. I’d love to be but I am impatient and not detailed oriented so if it ends up looking good and I made it.. I GUARANTEE you can do it too. And this one turned out good so it’s a winner! Today we are going to make a ribbon Valentine wreath or center piece!

Here is your supply list:

1 wreath

a large pack of straight pins

different ribbons- you need a total of about 45 yards of ribbon

Some pointers: I got a wreath with a flat back. Sounded ok until the pins poked through the back all the time. Go with a real round wreath. This one was 5.99 at Michael’s. You can buy that 3 pack for 7.99. Definitely worth it.

Splurge on 2 ribbon that are super thick. They may cost more but they take up a lot of space and make covering up the Styrofoam a lot easier. Go through your ribbon stock and see what white/pink/purple ribbon you already have that needs to be used up. Michael’s has ribbon 50% off this week also. This project would also be awesome for a scrapper or bow maker that is always finding themselves with extra ribbon. Just pin it on the wreath and create as you have scrap.

Ok step 1 is to cut your ribbon. They all need to be about 4 1/2 inches long. I just cut one and then used it to cut the rest.

Step 2- Roll your ribbon where the two sides are overlapping and push a pin through to keep it together.

Push the pin onto your Styrofoam.

It was easiest to start with the fatter ribbon because the skinnier ones are easier to find room for. I think its also best to do one type of ribbon at a time so you can sort of space them out. So that’s basically it! Continue with the rest of the ribbon and fill in all the Styrofoam. It helps to hold the wreath up directly in front of you sometimes to really see what its going to look like when hung.

So here is my finished Valentine’s wreath. I think it turned out pretty cute! Another thing I’ve done with these is laid them flat on the table and put candle inside to create a centerpiece. This project does take about an hour but it can be a stress reliever as you get to poke things with needles. Also its repetitive and doesn’t require a whole lot of thought which is nice on days when your toddler screamed and cried about 80% of the day. All in all, I am very pleased with this project.

As I was poking away at the Styrofoam, my teacher brain tried to think of an easier and cheaper way to do this for toddlers, preschoolers or early elementary teachers. Pins and children under 12 don’t go well together. So this is the idea I came up with. I have not tried it so let me know if you do.

Supplies: 1 paper plate per child

8-10 pieces of red,pink, white construction paper per child

1-2 pieces of decorated Valentine scrapbook paper per child

Have the child (if old enough) make the paper plate into a wreath by cutting out the inside of the plate leaving just a ring. If you paper is 8.5x11, cut it down the center so you have 2 pieces that are almost 4.5 inches and then cut them into strips. Have child make circles with these and glue them together. Then glue them onto the wreath.

So there you go! First project done! Make sure you follow my blog so you don’t miss out on all the other crafts, give aways and fun happenings we’ve got going on around here to celebrate the big day!

Decorating with photos

2011-01-31T05:54:00.001-08:00

I know a lot of people decide to do photography for the artistic aspect. I’d love to tell you how creative I am and how I just wanted to share that with the world but the truth is I went into photography because I wanted certain types of portraits of my children and the places I could afford weren’t getting them. I have always had a camera for as long as I remember. I loved photos and I loved taking photos but I’m not one of the artsy, mind blowing photographers of our days. I’m just a mom with a camera. Two years later, I’m a mom with a camera that takes pretty decent photos. And I like them to not just live on my computer.

One of my soap boxes is to get your photos printed. You don’t want to print everything as a 16x20? Fine. Get one of those old timey albums and get some 4x6’s. Back up your photos and put your cd’s in a fire proof safe or in a safety deposit box. These memories cannot be replaced if something happened.

When we took Rett to get his newborn photos taken pre mom-with-a-camera, I had a 10x20 printed and it is on our stair well. It still sits along. I haven’t gotten anything else printed to go along with it but I WILL. Anyway, I fell in love with that picture. I would look up at it and think about when he was that tiny and we all look so happy. I love looking at it! So I had more big prints done and I love looking at all of them too. When I think about the money that was spent, even I as a cheap skate will say its worth it. All except one which I will go into in a minute.

Options

When you are planning your attack on your walls one thing you have to consider is all the options. You have size options, printing options, framing options, color options and by the time you’re done, the option to bang your head against the wall because you are so overwhelmed. Take a deep breath. Its not that difficult. If you are wanting to do some sort of artistic cluster on a long or large portion of your wall, cut apart a cardboard box in sizes you may want to use and arrange them on the wall to see how its going to look. You can get ideas online from different retailers trying to sell you the entire collage. Here is one site with ideas. Then just go order wherever has the best prices.

When considering options, remember that some of the larger prints will come ready to be hung, such as gallery standouts or wraps which means you won’t need to add in the price of a frame as you will if you get just a typical print done. Also if you get a print done is a more basic size, the frame will be easy to find and relatively cheaper then an odd size that you may have to get custom framed. 10x20 and 16x20 are pretty typical sizes that can be framed easily.

I get most of my wall prints done in black and white. Its easier to know what they will look like and you’re not taking such a big chance on the colors coming out correctly. Also they match any color of décor.

Here are the examples hanging on my walls:

This is a 10x20 that hangs in our breakfast area. Ignore the blind cord, just trying to keep the toddler from strangling himself during meal time. This is just a regular print and I bought the frame from Hobby Lobby. The print came with a cardboard piece to keep it from getting bent so I took that and my photo up to Hobby Lobby and they framed it for me for free in a few minutes. I ordered this print from WHCC which caters to professional photographers. Here is a place that does 10x20 prints for $5. Add a few bucks for shipping and $20 for framing, this print would probably cost you around $27. It’s a decent size that looks large enough on the wall but still small enough that you don’t have to have a massive stair well to find a spot to hang it. The color treatment was done with Creamy Chocolate B&W photo action available for free here.

This print is a 16x20 gallery standout. It required no framing, just stick it up there on the wall. Its printed on extremely light framing so you don’t have to worry about it ripping a nail out of your wall or anything. I had this printed at WHCC. Searching on the internet I couldn’t really find anything like it but I did find these gallery wraps here. They are also on sale. Looks like you could get this one printed, ready to hang for around $50 or $60. Same photo treatment on this one.

This is the big bad boy at our house. And my only regret. This monster is 16x30. It is printed on unstretched canvas and had to be custom framed. When I originally ordered this print, I assumed it would come on canvas, stretched and ready to hang. I spent $85 on the print and that was on sale. I then had to get it custom framed at Michaels. I won’t go into the cost but it was astronomical. Unless you just desire unstretched canvas for some reason (I personally do not believe this looks any better then the other prints that I’ve had done), be ready to take a blow to your wallet when it comes to framing. At least pick a size that you can frame yourself. Photo tratment is the same again.

My mom bought me this frame for Christmas and we finally got around to filling it up. Never underestimate the power of small pictures in larger quantities put together. If you don’t want to devote 16x20 or wall real estate to one print, printout several 5x5’s and cover the same area. You will still have a nice sized area covered in prints and the same eye catch but you’ll have more photos displayed. Good for families with lots of kiddos too. I recommend going to Hobby Lobby or some other place that sells frames and seeing what is available before ordering your prints. You don’t want to be surprised with a bunch of prints that you now have to get custom framed. And like I said, see if the framers will frame it for you. In my case they did and it didn’t cost me a penny!

This is the one print I’ve done in color. I tried to find this on my computer but I only have this on facebook or at least all that I can find. I planned this photo out to match her room so I could get a large print done to hang. This is another 16x20 gallery stand out. The colors really are gorgeous and I am very happy with the way it turned out. Sometimes less editing is more when it comes to getting your colors to come out how you want them to.

So there you have my decorating with photos in my own home. I still have lots of wall to fill but I hate the thought of filling it all now with just one age range so I’m slowly filling it so we have some variety of photos. Plus we still have two kids to go! They are going to need some space as well. I hope I inspired you to get some prints done and up on the wall. It really is an investment you won’t regret.

Project 365- My week in photos!

2011-01-28T05:19:00.001-08:00

So.. week 4 done! Almost an entire month of project 365. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought. I’m still not happy of all the times when I’m too lazy to get out of my camera and shoot. One of my goals was to snap when we are out in public which I get stage fright or something.. so weird! Anyway, here’s my week in pictures:

Mom got back fro Houston and came to visit

Tom started working on retiling our shower. Once we took the fake plastic tile down, we found it had been glued to the wall and behind it the wall had just rotted out. Tom put up a new wall for the tile.

Round one of Valentine’s photos

Sissy lets nothing stand between her and a sippy. Including her brother.

Valentine’s photos take 2. See I really do try to take pictures of Rett… just doesn’t work out.

Playing outside. It was really warm yesterday so we actually got to go outside for awhile.

So that was my week!

Here is my layout from last week:

WAHM Wednesday- Spotlight on Bree & Lia Boutique!

2011-01-26T05:44:00.001-08:00

Today’s spotlight is on a mom who has a daughter Evie’s age and makes absolutely adorable crocheted hats! Perfect for photography, baby showers or just to get some attention for your perfect cherub.

Name: Holly
Location: Duluth, MN
Business Type: Handmade crochet beanie hats & accessories
Kiddos Names/ages: Aubrey (almost 4) & Julia (almost 8 months)
Why did you decide to start a WAHM buisness? I learned how to crochet from my Grandma when I was younger so I knew the basics of crochet before I even thought of selling my work. I started making beanies for my daughters and for friend's kids then decided one day to make an Etsy store to see if any of my items would sell. I started off slow - adding new items here and there. Now, about 9 months later I've created a growing business I love to work on every day!

What if your most favorite part of having your own business? I love hearing feedback from families who've bought from me. It's always nice to hear that others enjoy your product and that their kids are happy and excited to wear it! I also love getting 'Fan Photos' from others wearing Bree & Lia!

What is your least favorite? I honestly don't have a 'least favorite' thing about it - I sometimes get a little overwhelmed with orders around big holidays such as Christmas or Halloween but it's not a bad thing to be busy!
How long have you had your business? How long have you done your craft? I've been crocheting since I was younger and I've been making beanies with Bree & Lia Boutique since April 2010.
What has having your own business added to your life? It's added a lot of fun! I get to fall asleep at night thinking of fun new ideas I can work on the next day! :)
What makes your business special? I think my items are special because I have a nice mixture of things for any occasion. Whether a beanie is to be given to a new Mommy for their newborn to wear coming home from the hospital, a beanie to wear at a Baby's First Football game, a Trip to Disney World, or a beanie to be used as a Halloween costume or Photo Prop - everyone can enjoy them!

Here are some of my favs from Holly:

You can find her facebook fan page here. If you like her, tell her Laura’s Daily Madness sent yah! She’s having a referral contest right now! Also her Etsy shop is here.

And Holly has offered to give away a 15% discount off one item to her store! Just comment on what hat you would buy! I’ll be back Friday to announce a winner. PLEASE leave your e mail in your comment or check back on Friday for how to contact me!

So ready for spring… and a give away x 3!

2011-01-25T04:58:00.001-08:00

Is anyone else sick of the cold and the snow and the blah? I definitely am. I’m ready to get outside and watch Rett play, get our garden started and soak up some sun. Last night we were going over our Hawaii trip plans for this summer and to say I’m looking forward to it is an understatement. And before you know it, spring is gonna be here!

Did you know that a lot of your spring garden needs to be started indoors during February and March? Thinking about planting seeds this early when its so gross out normally doesn’t cross your mind but this enables them to be strong enough to have a good leg up for your outdoor planting. So don’t think I’m crazy for posting some farm ideas. I always did farm in conjunction to seeds in my classroom, the two just go together!

Vocab- Vocab doesn’t have to be flashcards. It can be a list printed up as a reminder to you for the words you’d like your child to identify, understand or use depending on age and ability. Here are some ideas: farm animals (cow, horse, pig, etc), barn, shed, tractor, combine, seed, sprout, plant, leaf, crop, hay, harvest, plant, germinate. Not every word is going to be suitable for every child. Choose words on your child’s level and add to the list as you read through your books and find new words to work on.

Books- Books are an easy way to teach your information and vocab! If your child isn’t old enough to listen to the entire story or informational text, use the pictures and discuss what’s going on.

Books for toddlers:

Factual books:

Plant Activities:

Collect small containers such as empty yogurt containers, baby food jars or empty milk cartons. Have your child help you fill the containers with dirt. Choose 3-4 different kinds of vegetables or other seeds and label the containers for what will be planted in them. Make a plant journal and note the day you planted the seeds. Another idea is to plant beans in zip lock baggies. Moisten a paper towel (do not soak.. it will rot the seeds, I know from experience), place a few bean seeds inside and seal in a zip lock baggie. Beans sprout within a few days and will need to be planted in soil within a week or two.

Talk to your child about the different sizes and shapes of the seeds. Does this have anything to do with how long it takes them to sprout (check the back of the seed packet for info), the size of the plant or the size of the fruit they produce?

Water seeds and place in a sunny area. Continue noting things in your journal such as when each plant sprouted, when they put on their second set of leaves, when you planted them outdoors. Your child can draw the different plant sprouts, graph the days it took to sprout and help you with watering and transplanting.

Animal Activities:

Make paper plate animal masks.

Collect a large box (you can call best buy or another store that sells refrigerators and see if you can get a box), cut out doors/windows and have your child help you paint their new barn.

Read the little red hen and make your own bread at home!

Make home made butter. You can google the directions but this is something I do every year and the kids love it. Good to make while waiting for your bread to bake.

Draw pigs on paper, color and cut out. Mix up some instant chocolate pudding and finger paint a fun mud paradise for your pigs to play. Eat the leftovers.

Ramona released this kit today:

And as soon as I saw it, my teacher brain started working overtime on ideas to use with my son. Here are a few I came up with:

Peek a boo book. Open the barn to read the simple text.

Animal match up. A simple memory game.

An easy reader with animal sounds.

Puppets for gluing to popsicle sticks or attaching magnets to for fridge fun or use a cookie sheet to keep a little one busy in the car.

I put all these together along with templates for you to make your own and Ramona put them in this bundle: (image linked)

It was so fun coming up with ideas and putting the templates together. Hopefully I can do this with some other kits as well. Ramona made the fridge puppets for her son, Noah and said he played with them for an hour! Can’t beat that for some cheap rainy day entertainment.

So this week I’m doing a give away! Ok I’m doing 3 give aways! I’m going to give away the two easy readers I printed and put together, my animal match up game and my animal puppets. You can earn three entries: comment below with what you would do with your freebies for 1, subscribe to my blog above and comment that you did that as 2, follow my blog for #3. Good luck! I’ll be back next Tuesday with a winner!

Valentine’s Photo Ideas

2011-01-24T07:22:00.001-08:00

Its getting to be just about that time! Its funny how the holidays sneak up on us and really to have photos for cards to be ordered, you will need to get your Valentine's pics done within the next few weeks!
If hiring a photographer or going to a commercial studio really isn't in the budget right now, here are a few tips to get some great photos of your kids yourself.

1. The background

The background of your photo really sets the stage. A plain background puts more focus on your child while a pattern background can add some interest or fun! For Valentine's you might do a baby pink or blue sheet pinned to the wall. I myself am about to go to Target to snag one of their fun Valentine's themed shower curtains. A simple white or grey will also photograph beautifully!

2. The Props

This is such a great holiday to use some props! Some cheap and fun props for boys and girls can be found in the $1 bin at Target. Some of my favorites are suckers, love bug antennae or other cute hats. I bought this hat box at Target for $20 and the boa at Hobby Lobby for $3. Check the storage areas of your stores as well as your craft stores for cute containers and accessories.

3. The Poses

Using containers, chairs, benches, buckets or whatever else you may have around your house, set up your little studio, bring in your child and see what you can get. Having some sound makers ready to attract attention can help as well as wearing hats or other fun things on your own head. Suckers keep kids busy while adding a color pop to your photos. The most important thing is shoot, shoot, shoot! The more pictures you take, the more likely you are to get a good one. Shoot at leave 5 photos of each prop/pose. Change hats, props, backgrounds or chairs to get more looks.

Here are some photos I did of Evie today:

I bought the shower curtain at Target like I said I was going to. It was $12. They also have one of the same color scheme but in stripes. I might go get that one too. Pretty nice price for a background and it would be nice for basic, bright shots anyway. The rug I also got at Target. It was on sale for 18.50 and I plan on using it in Evie’s room after pictures are done. My bow if from The Picket Fence. If you happen to buy one of her awesome bows, mention my name cause I get one FOR FREE. I love their bows.. seriously they have an auction every Wednesday and I NEED to stop attending because I’ve bought something every week for.. um.. a long time. The pettiskirt is from Braylin’s Boutique.

And for my scrapper friends, here is your freebie for today! It matches up with Ramona’s Farm Country releasing tomorrow!

You can pick it up here!

P365- My week in pictures!

2011-01-21T05:51:00.001-08:00

So my goal for 365 if to get my camera in my hands everyday. This may not mean just one picture or even just one time. It seems that as I become consciously aware of wanting to take photos everyday, I actually end up taking photos as several times of several things. Which basically means I’m going to have a thousand scrapbook pages for this year. Yikes. So far for January, I have taken 300 photos. WOW! If this is how every month goes.. I’m just starting to get worried. Anyway, here is my week in pictures!

Saturday

Lunch! Yum!

Sunday

The way we’re handling being asked to pick up toys right now.

Monday

when did he get so big?

Tuesday

Super dad! Ok maybe even a normal dad would wear baby while making dinner but it takes a super dad to wear a pink carrier.

I have to share this one too. Most of the photos seem to gravitate between the two kids. I was pretty impressed with this robot Tom spent an hour making. It only took Rett five minutes the next morning to destroy it. Robotcha is a FRIENDLY robot!

Wednesday

Our beautiful Evie right before bath time. Its funny how the little moments can turn into art whenever you watch for it.

Thursday

Playing in the 3 or 4 inches of snow we got over the night. Notice the eye aversion from the camera.

Here is my layout from last week:

Made using Ramona the Pest’s Friends Forever.

Thrifty Thursday and a mini match up!

2011-01-20T07:09:00.001-08:00

I have been feeling a little under the weather this week so I didn’t get to make a trip to cvs. I’m feeling better but now we have 4 inches of snow so looks like it just may not be on the to do list for this week. However I did swing by Target earlier this week to pick up some bagels for play group. I had to check out the clearance and this is what I found:

I got 2 packs of sleepers for 4.98 each and a pair of baby legs for 2.48. Now in 3 years, sissy can wear these cheap pj’s! Ha! A lot of people are reporting up to 75% off of baby and children clothing. I also got a baby mailer full of coupons yesterday that I would LOVE to go and see if I can match up anything. I know baby legs has said they are going to stop selling in Target so expect to see a lot of that on clearance! I love these heart ones for V-day. Make sure you scan to make sure the price listed is correct and its not actually even lower. I must have a really responsible Target because ours is always right, but you can always dream!

This week’s mini match up is for some cheap salad dressing! I love to buy salad dressing for cheap because so many recipes call for weird salad dressings that I wouldn’t normally purchase so I’d rather get a deal then waste money on something we may not use up afterwards.

Ken’s salad dressing – $1.89 x 2 = $3.78

Two target coupons .75 off 1 Ken’s salad dressing here. = $2.28 for 2

Fill out this form here and get another .75 off 2. = 1.53 for two or .77 each!

WAHM Made- Spotlight on Kayla Boyle Photography

2011-01-19T05:43:00.001-08:00

Well its Wednesday again which means another great feature on a WAHM. This week we have Kayla Boyle Photography from Canada. Not only does she do amazing family photography, but she also sells prints of her gorgeous photography!

Name: Kayla Boyle
Location: Toronto, ON Canada
Business Type: Photography
Kiddos Names/ages: Ethan 3, Gwen 1
Why did you decide to start a WAHM buisness? It was the right time for me to open my photography business, but with a young family regular hours out of the house + an office or studio space externally it just wasn't a plausible option, so I set up a work at home schedule, set up some space in the house and off I went.
What if your most favorite part of having your own business? I get to set my own schedule. Since I don't have a schedule that commits me on someone elses terms I can spend more time with my kids during hours a typical job would have me preoccupied and I'm still able to offer my clients a flexible schedule that better suits their schedules as well.
What is your least favorite? No matter how much work there is to do, it's me who has to get it done. Sometimes this means I have to work in the evenings, weekends, or the odd time while my kids are watching a movie or doing some colouring.

How long have you had your business? How long have you done your craft? I've had my business for just over 2 years now, and I've been involved in photography for as long as I can remember. It's in my blood. With all of the artsy types, musicians, and photographers in my family, it wasn't hard to fall into. Ever since I've been old enough to hold a camera I've been a shutterbug. I have a box filled with cameras more than twice my age my grandpa gave me that I'm waiting to play with. Among them there is a 1940's Brownie Hawkeye and a 1950's Baldafix 120.
What has having your own business added to your life? Since I'm fortunate enough to be doing something I'm passionate about and truly love it's given me a great sense of satisfaction that I'm finally able to share my talent and creativity with others. Not only do I do sessions with families, newborns and for weddings, but I also sell prints worldwide. It's really neat to know that people have my artwork hanging on their walls.
What makes your buisness special? In spending just a few minutes with a family or a couple I'm able to capture memories for them, that might otherwise have been missed. During all of my sessions we will do posed, formal shots, but I love nothing more than the candid expressions and behaviour you can capture when they forget you are tagging along. In the end those are normally the pictures they love the most, since they are so "them".

You can check out Kayla’s photography here and fan her on facebook here.

And for my blog readers, she has offered up a special discount. You can order her prints off of Facebook. Photography has become such a popular item to add to your home’s décor. For 15% off prints, free shipping on orders up to 8x12, half price shipping on large scale orders use coupon code LDM15. If you happen to live in Kayla’s area and would like to take advantage of her family photography, she has offered up 2 FREE 8x10s for sessions booked in 2011 with code LDMs810.

And here are some of my favorites!

Support a family, support a mom! Buy work at home mom made!

What have we been reading lately…

2011-01-18T06:19:00.001-08:00

I have been able to get quite a bit of reading done this month! I joined two different book club, one at Brownie Scraps and one in my mom group. I already talked about the one from Brownie Scraps (Girl in Translation GOOD read).

We read The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo in my mom group. And that is a ridiculously good price for it on Amaon too.. 63% off today! Anyway, getting side tracked by good deals. This book is an intense read, I’ll admit that. It is originally Swedish so you have a lot of strange names. I usually just rename everyone in these cases. You also have a lot of strange town and places names. I usually just ignore them in these cases. Somehow the book still makes sense so must not be that important. You also have graphic violence against women scenes. And the first half is almost impossible to get through because the author does such a thorough job of character development it starts sounding like the part of the bible where everyone is begetting everyone. Now doesn’t that sound like it’s a great book? But it is! After you get past all that, the author creates a wonderful murder mystery with a twisty ending. He introduces you to Lisbeth, the victim turned heroine who has her share of quirks (he mentions she may be on the Autistm spectrum) but that manages to win your heart and have you cheering as she overcomes her tiny stature to save the day. This is a three part series and book club is still deciding what we’ll read next. I have requested the next book anyway because its just that good!

On a much smaller nightstand…

Rett has moved up to 3 stories a night! I absolutely love that he is so interested in story books now. Last night when I said all done, he started whimpering and on the verge of tears. Ok maybe he just wanted to stay up later, but I’d like to think that our love of reading has rubbed off a little bit. So here’s what we’ve been reading lately:

This book is about a little girl staying home while her parents go out. She might have a touch of separation anxiety. Rett really liked pointing to daddy and mommy in every page. It also has a lot of 1,2,3 to help with counting and number identification.

Another cute family story. Emma is looking for a pet. This one has a lot of animals which was a hit. Plus working on animal sounds which is always fun. Eventually Emma’s perfect pet turns out to be her big, furry bear daddy. You usually can’t go wrong with David McPhail.

Today at Brownie Scraps, Scrappin Daisies is releasing her new haircutting kit! I love themed kits! This one got a lot of layouts so apparently lots of hair cut photos out there!

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one. When this kit was requested I imagined it was going to be very kiddish and while it still works for kid photos, the colors are just so awesome and mod. Its 25% off today only!

Here’s Rett’s mommy haircut he got this week. I need practice! And I can’t believe how fat that sweater makes me look! I blame it on my husband’s angle of photography. Not the bag of m&m’s I got at CVS last week. His haircut didn’t come out THAT bad and luckily at 2 he still doesn’t care anyway.

Here is your freebie for today!

You can pick it up here!

Winter themed ideas for toddlers!

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I know from experience that winter leaves you limited on activities you can participate in outside of your house. Its too cold, too wet or too snowy to go to the playground, zoo or even take walks around the neighborhood. And sometimes as the days being stuck inside with your child stretch on, cabin fever sets in and for your child’s own safety… you need some ideas!

A lot of these ideas come from my own classroom and from researching units that I did with my first graders. When sharing these activities I had a few goals. 1. I wanted activities that could be modified for different age ranges as I know some of you have multiples at home. 2. I wanted something easy to throw together and easy to clean up. 3. I wanted the learning goals to be simple for mom to understand so that she could feel empowered to take an active role in her child’s learning. So with those 3 goals in mind, here are some ideas for you as the cold days stretch ahead!

Vocab for winter time!

Ok so vocab doesn’t sound all that fun. And if you sit there with flashcards, its not. What I WOULD urge you to do is to get either a white board or even just index cards and write a few words on them that you would feel that your child doesn’t know yet but has the ability to learn. If your child is young this could be just to identify objects (point to the sled!), if your child is older this could be being able to say the word (can you say snow?) and if your child is even older, be able to use the word in their everyday vocabulary (what are some things we do outside when its snowing?) As you complete other fun activities look for learning opportunities where you can point out your vocab goal words. Sleds might appear in books. During art projects, ask them what appears in their snow pictures to see if they can identify some of your words. You do NOT have to teach all the words in one sitting! But 3-5 goal words is an easy goal for you to achieve and keeps you on focus for a few words to work on. Once your child learns those words, add some more! As your child masters the words, place a magnet besides the words on your white board or star them.

Here are my vocab words for my 2 year old:

sled

snow

snowman

mittens

coat

scarf

You can also print them with pictures of the words to help early readers or kids that really like to spell correctly. Keep yourself from spelling 'snow' out loud 200 times and make a word card!

Here are a few I made with Ramona’s kit Snow is Glistening:

These word cards can also help special needs or any children with limited speech. If your two year old always gives you a hard time about getting him completely dressed in his winter garb before going outside, make a few cards showing ALL the items he needs on and put them in sandwich size zip lock baggies. Hole punch them and use yarn to make a chain of them. Then when you are getting ready, when he starts to wiggle, point and say ‘oh we don’t have on our mittens or our hat yet!’ This easy visual lets him know exactly what the delay is about and makes him feel more in control of the situation.

For special needs kids you can make a lot of different cards with different activities and ask them what they want to do outside. They may can show you the right card even if they can’t vocalize that. It helps cut down on their frustration with not being able to tell you what’s going on. You can also make visual schedules of how their day is going to go. This helps cut down on frustration when something new is happening (going shopping). They can look at the schedule and see. I’ve even seen some parents cut out pictures of foods from mcdonald’s and laminate them so their child can tell them what they want when they go to the restaurant. Never underestimate the power of communication even in a picture form.

Books to read

Books are key with any unit you may want to participate in with your child. Books are interesting to children, grab their attention and give you an easy way to point out objects to increase vocabulary. If you don’t get snow in your area, your child may never come in contact with snow men or sleds. However once they get into school they might come across stories or questions that have these vocabulary words in them. Their understanding of these words can be a key part of their future learning. Your local library is a great resource. Log in online, request your books and go pick them up all at once.

Books for things we wear in the winter time:

Books for winter activities:

Snowmen at Night is one of my all time favorite books! The pictures are beautiful and they have hidden pictures in the snow. It focuses on a lot of different winter time activities to do in the snow.

Books for hibernation and animals in winter:

Board books for little ones:

I’d recommend getting 5-10 books just to have a variety to see what your child likes. Read them for bedtime, naptime and throughout the day. Multiple readings is best. If your child can’t actually sit through the story, just talk about the pictures or make up your own story based on the pictures.

Indoor snowball fights!

After reading some of your books, have your own indoor snowball fight. Roll some balls of paper up to make your own snowballs. Set up empty milk jugs, cans or light toys and practice knocking them over.

Painting with ice!

I’ve done this with my classroom children. You can do these with normal ice cube trays but they are more fun if you have the shaped ones. Right now at Target in the dollar bin they have mini ice cube trays in the shapes of hearts. Dye some water with food coloring and freeze into trays. Pop them out and water color with your new colors! You can discuss melting, freezing, color words and shapes. Draw snow scenes with older children.

Make your own snowflakes!

Make some of the old fashioned snowflakes with sheets of paper and scissors. Tie them to string and hang them from your child’s ceiling to make a winter wonderland for them to snooze in. Use glitter for extra pretty snowflakes.

Snow scenes on the table!

Spray the kitchen table down with shaving cream and let your child finger paint snow scenes, letters, their name or anything else you are working on in it. Afterwards, wipe your table off and it will probably be cleaner then when you started.

Bring the snow indoors!

If its too cold outdoors or you don’t feel like bundling and unbundling all day long, fill up a kiddie pool, pot or dish pan full of snow. Bring out the sand play tools for some winter fun! Build mini snowmen to keep in the freezer for more fun later.

Clothes sorting!

Collect some different seasonal clothing items. Either cut pictures out of magazines, print them off the computer or use real clothes! Talk about what we wear in winter and let your child dress up if its real clothes. Now what about summertime? In the rain?

And a little freebie for today:

They actually have a clear background but you can't see the white squares unless I turn it black. You can download the word card template here.

P365- Another week finished!

2011-01-14T05:40:00.001-08:00

I’m taking project 365 one day, one week at a time. 7 pictures is a lot easier to handle then 365. I didn’t do as many studio shots this week and that’s ok, every week will be different!

Day 1- Tom reading to the kids

Day 2- Evie’s first snow

Day 3- Evie studio shot

Day 4- Rett actually smiling at the camera instead of running away.

Day 5- A card I made

Day 6- Every girl needs a denim skirt.

Day 7- Rett actually eating food!

Here’s my layout for last week:

Using Today from Ramona the Pest.

Mini Match Up and CVS trip this week

2011-01-13T06:25:00.001-08:00

So this is what I got this week at CVS for under $5. You can’t just do CVS in a few minutes. It really does take a lot of time and effort to plan out what you are wanting to get when you go. Another problem is I often run into that they are out of items and my scenarios are all screwed up. So here is what I did. I went in to CVS and scanned my card at the coupon machine. It looks like a price check monitor. It spit out a coupon for a free hand sanitizer (score!) and .50 of bucks from my purchases made in the fall.

First transaction

Finish gel pack $3

Air wick unit $6

Air wick refills $5 a piece

Lysol $4

Reese’s minis $1.89

Snickers .89

M&M’s on clearance .75

hand sanitizer 1.69

Total: 27.33

- 2.25 Finish coupon

- $4 air wick coupon

- $5 (B1G1 air wick refill)

- 1.69 free hand sanitzer coupon

- $4 off of $20 purchase

- $10 in ECB =

.39 + tax = 1.33

I received back $12.78 in bucks

Second transation

2 Gas X $6 a piece

Total: $12

- $4 off of gas x coupons x2

= $8

I then used a few small ecbs that I had to get this total down to 3.20

I need to buy one more gas x and I’ll earn $10 more in bucks

As you can see, CVS is really one of the best ways to get super cheap stuff. It just takes a lot of time to plan out attacks and then you are hoping that the stuff is there! When its not, it can really foul up your plans.

This week’s mini matchup is for chicken! I love meat sales and coupons. Its really hard to get good meat coupons so I always feel super lucky when a good match up comes along. This is only good until the 15th so you have to hurry!

This week at Target they have their whole 3lb fryers on sale for $3.50. You can go here and insert zip code 84123 and find the $1.50 off of 1 gold ‘n plump natural chicken. Go back and print another one for 2 great deals. You are now going to get an entire chicken for $2!

When we first started buying these chickens I was scared of them. I had a freezer full of whole chickens and not a lot of idea on how to handle cooking them. But honestly, they are so simple. You simply wash them off and pat dry with paper towels. Then you coat them with salt and pepper and cut up 1/2 stick of butter into small slices and place on top of the skin dotting the entire bird. Then back at 350 for 45 minutes. You can find a lot of recipes calling for rotisserie chicken to use up the leftovers so its really 2 meals in one! What a bargain!

I went to Target this week to take advantage of a lot of their current deals. For $45.61 including tax I got: 3 soy sauce, 6 jars of pasta sauce, 4 snack packs, 2 whole fryers, 10lbs of skinless/boneless chicken breast, 4 country crock margine, 2 market pantry ice tea mixes, 2 jars of peanut butter, 2 motrin pm, 1 floss. It says I saved $38.75 but that was just in coupons. Most of the things I bought were also on sale. Yay for great savings! Feel free to link up any blog posts with your own trips for the week! And if you don’t want to devote THAT much time, pick up your cheapie fryers this week for a simple and cost saving bargain!

WAHM Wednesday- Meet Cutesy Tushies diapers!

2011-01-12T04:59:00.001-08:00

Michelle, the owner of Cutesy Tushie diapers, and I have daughters the same age. We met on an online pregnancy site and have taken our friendship to Facebook where she hooked me on her diapers with her charming personality and of course… the adorable prints! Recently she has added a few new products, including one size, snapped diapers and a diaper wash detergent. Each diaper you buy comes with its own insert also.

Name:Michelle
Location:Central Wisconsin
Business Type: Cloth Diapers
Kiddos Names/ages:
Ethan, 5
Wyatt,3
Chase,1
Tayla, 6 months
Why did you decide to start a WAHM buisness? I was already making cloth diapers for my 3 little ones that were in diapers and was also making them already for other mommy's in my area. By having a WAHM business, I am able to be home and see my babies grow up:)
What if your most favorite part of having your own business?
My favorite part of my business is being able to meet others from around the country and of course, getting for find great prints for others:)

How long have you had your business? How long have you done your craft?
I have been making cloth diapers now for over a year, started in January of 2010 and I have been making them for about the same time. But I have been sewing now for about 18 years.
What has having your own business added to your life?
Having my own business has added more time to spend with my babies. I am able to spend almost all day with them, working during their nap times and also late into the night:)
What makes your business special? I don't really know if there is anything special about my business. I am a WAHM, that loves what she does, is easy to work with, and wants to make sure that everyone is happy with their diapers that they receive from me. I do believe though that every little one should have a fluffy tushie:)

Here are a few pics of Evie in her cutesy tushies:

And a couple of her prints that have made it to my radar:

I just love the prints Michelle gets and the fun auctions she hosts on Facebook.

Michelle has offered a special for my blog readers! For Wednesday and Thursday ONLY you can use code: LDM for 20% off your order! So go check out Michelle’s Facebook fan page here and her website here.

Support a family, support a mom, buy work at home mom made!

If you own a WAHM business and would like to be featured, please e mail me at lauraleahayes@yahoo.com.

Finally sitting through a book

2011-01-11T06:48:00.001-08:00

In my past life I was a first grade teacher. First grade is a magical time that is primarily focused on learning to read and finding the enjoyment that comes from a good book. Now that I’m staying at home, my classroom lives in tubs up in the attic. And I have tubs and tubs and tubs of books from my classroom library and read aloud selection. When I had kids I was so excited to share with them all the characters I fell in love with along with my students. Unfortunately Rett preferred books that had no more then four words per page and since he liked to rip out pages.. only board books. Here are a few of his fav board books, I’m sure some of you moms may recognize them from your own most loved library.

So now after memorizing the words to all these we are ready to move on.

The first books we introduced Rett to that were longer ones were of course Dr. Seuss. Rett’s first story he would officially sit through was Cat in the Hat. At first he would only sit through half of it. But gradually after talking about the pictures with him and urging him to finish the story he sat through the entire thing. Now he often goes and gets it, finds the page where all the things falls down and comes to show us the big ‘uh oh mess’. Also it has a fish in it which he loves.

Now we’re moving on to more advanced literature. This is what he’s sat through so far:

I really recommend the skippy jon jones books. They are some of my favorites! I plan on keeping an updated list here on good transitioning books when you are sick of the same old stories but your child still isn’t willing to sit through just any old book.

Share the love of literacy!

Today Ramona released her newest kit ‘Cosmic Adventures’. Image is linked.

You can check out her blog here for an even better discount! Today is on sale for 25% off anyway so that’s a real bargain! I love these fun boy colors! I can imagine some adorable birthday cards or decorations made from this one. Here are the layouts I created:

We have some major Buzz love in our house as well.

And here is your freebie for today:

You can pick it up here!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

You don’t need an SLR!

2011-01-10T09:38:00.001-08:00

One of the most common responses to my pictures is for people to ask me what kind of camera I have. They seem to think that by purchasing a high end SLR camera, their photos will suddenly turn into works of art. I’m not here to tell you that you can’t take photos like I do because you can! I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to wait till you can afford the SLR, you can start now!

When looking at facebook at photos of kids I immediately think of small improvements that could be made. I can’t help it, it just happens. Not to say that I’m picking apart pictures, I know most mommy shots are taken to capture the moment because that’s the most important and that’s fine. But it does pain me to think of how a ‘aww so cute’ picture could be turned into a ‘OH WOW How did you do that?’ picture with just a little time and attention.

The most common issues I see are shooting down on children and not paying attention to the light. You NEED to shoot at eye level 80-90% of the time. This means crouching down and shooting so that you are looking straight at your child. Lighting could mean opening the blinds before you start to shoot, moving her closer to the window or moving into the shade instead of direct sun.

I set myself a challenge today to use our new point and shoot and see what types of photos I could get. This is what I have:

This is a Kodak Easy Share camera. Our is actually black because its my husbands. It’s a 14 megapixel little point and shoot. I have to make some apologies to our poor little Kodak here. First we just bought this camera for Christmas and since its not my main camera, I really haven’t taken it seriously. I don’t know how to use all the nifty things it comes with and I’m sure I could have done a better job with a little research. Also we didn’t have a card for this camera. The thing only stores about 10 photos or so. Non stop clicking is just going to give you better results. So if you don’t see a dozen great photos on this page, its really my fault for not knowing my own gear very well.

Ok so I have my easy share here. I also pulled out a polka dot sheet from the closet. I did use my background stand to hang it on but back in the day I have been known to pin sheets to the wall. You could do the same thing. I also used my fake wooden floor. Fake wooden floors are pretty popular right now. I bought mine off ebay. Its really a carpet saver for office chairs.

You can find these on ebay by searching for bamboo rugs. I also used my fake piece of wall trim that I got from Lowe’s for about $2. I also used my reflector. If you want to splurge on a relatively inexpensive thing that will REALLY help your photos, buy a reflector. If you want to just experiment you can also buy one of those metallic things you put in your window during summer time and get the same time of effect. Also just a big piece of white poster board will do semi well.

Ok so we’re all set up with our sheet, rug and wall trim. The next step was to turn off my on camera flash. Those on camera flashes will murder your photos! Another apology to my little point and shoot.. I did not wait for optimum lighting for the room I used. Pay attention to when your room you’ll be using gets the most light. Mine hits around 11 am. I took these photos around 8am before the babies went completely bonkers.

And my result:

My little point and shoot did that? Why yes, yes it did! A few things I SHOULD have done different to improve my photos. One is to find the option that has the little face on it for portrait shooting. This would have blurred my background. I looked for awhile but gave up and couldn’t find it. I thought I did pretty good finding out how to turn off the dang flash. If you can find that option, you’re going to get better results. Also the whole lighting thing. I just needed more light which means for me to wait till later when my room has more light. Also ironing the sheet… but that’s not in my nature so that probably won’t change.

Here is the same set up but using my SLR. One thing is my SLR cheated. I used my speed lite flash for the photo so not have to subtract some points for that.

Again, the SLR photo has the background blurred which is immediately a more professional looking shot in this case. If I could have found the portrait option on my point and shoot we might have had a similar effect.

Here are some photos from back in my sheet on a wall days:

So while having an SLR definitely helps you get great looking photos, don’t sit around waiting for that time to come. Take advantage of those darling dimples and silly smiles now!

365

2011-01-07T06:51:00.001-08:00

Well the first week of 365 is down and so far, so good! I took pictures everyday this week. My main goal is not to take one picture a day but to use my camera everyday. Which usually means a LOT more then one picture. I hate it when you take one and it doesn't turn out. I want more to choose from! So here is a recap of my week:

Can’t find the 1st.. what a way to start. I promise I did a take pic though!

My 365 project is not only about capturing the big events of the day, its also about capturing the small ones. And working on portrait photography of my kids. The reason why Rett rarely makes it into the ‘studio’ is the studio turns him into a screaming, crying, fit throwing 2 year old. So his pictures usually take place wherever the toys are. If you haven’t started 365, consider doing Project 52 and taking a photo each week. Or if you want to get in on the action, you’ve only missed a week! That was my week, how was yours?

Thrifty Thursday- Almost and Mini Matchup

2011-01-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

I'm going to use Thursdays to brag *ahem* I mean post about all the deals I got for the week with photos. I'm also going to do small match ups that anyone can get started with that are not too overwhelming but still, over time, save a ton! So last night instead of going to swim school with my son, I ventured to Target with my daughter.

First let me tell you that we ended up leaving our swim bag at home so my son and my husband's towels and dry clothes were gone and it was 20 something degrees so towels and a new set of pjs for my son were on the list. I went to Target, got all my deals, shopped the 90% off Christmas clearance and snagged a set of snow globes for my mom's winter women's tea for next year, proceeded to check out. I scored with my 14 + coupons, swiped my Target card for an additional 5% off and the computer died. My heart sank. Checking my cell phone, I realized that swim school just let out and in a heavy traffic area of town (ok in Tulsa pretty much the ONLY heavy traffic area of town) it was going to take me at least 10 minutes to get there. The man went to check if my card had went through. I won't lie and say I didn't think of leaving. My daughter by this time is screaming in her carrier. We apparently have the same amount of patience.

The guy comes back and tells me he was actually checking on somebody else's. Wow, thanks. So back into the office he goes. Then he comes out and tells me my card didn't go through. So I've wasted an hour, have no towels or pjs and now have run out of time. Not only that but they have all my coupons and I don't have time to mess with that either. So grabbing my daughter and going out of the store, I have an emotional breakdown and cry. Mostly over the towels and pjs but I have to admit I was thinking of the coupons too. SO long story short, that's why I don't have pics and all that bragging material today.

So onto my mini match up. I'll be focusing on Target because its nation wide. Target is special in that it offers its own store coupons both on its website, through the Sunday paper sometimes and in coupon booklets they send in the mail. You can use one of their coupons and another manufacturer coupon on the same item to score some pretty sweet deals. This week's mini match up is for Special K cereal. So here's the low down:

Target has these cereals on sale for 2.50
You will need 2 of the $1 off of 2 coupons from the Target site here.

You also need 2 of these buy 1 get 1 free (B1G1) coupons here.

4 boxes of cereal 2.50 x 4= $10
- 2 $1/2 Target coups = $8
- 2 B1G1 coups =$3
Total per box = .75

If you have access to more then 1 computer, print off another set of these as well. But if you aren't brave enough to take in a stack of 8 coupons, this is only 4 and an easy, headache free way to score an easy deal. Who doesn't like CHEAP cereal?!

****EDITED*** The above B1G1 coupons apparently ran out right after I posted this, nice. How about pasta sauce instead?

Target has Classico on sale this week for 1.79. To do this deal you need to check your pasta for hang tag coupons. These coupons are attached to the red pasta sauce and say Buy 2 alfredo and get a red sauce for free. These have been at my target for at least a month now. Here's the deal:

Buy 3 pasta sauces, 2 alfredo and 1 red- 1.79 x 3 = 5.37
- your free red sauce (-1.79) 3.58
- $1 off of 2 here 2.58

Price per pasta sauce- .86!

WAHM Wednesday- Spotlight on JessicaRae Jewellry

2011-01-05T10:38:00.001-08:00

I’m going to start a new theme on Wednesdays for moms that work at home. I have a lot of mom friends that work from home in order to spend more time with their family, help pay off the bills or get a little fun money for themselves and I’d really like to share these amazing and talented women with you. It is one of my goals to have a complete WAHM Christmas one year. If you would like your WAHM buisness spotlighted, please send me an e mail at lauraleahayes at yahoo dot com with a little information. No give away or anything is required, its just a little shout out. If you want to do a give away or offer coupons, etc, that is fine too.

Ok on to the lady of the hour, Jessica! I met Jessica 3 years ago through an online baby site. We were both pregnant at the same time and our sons are only a month or so apart. She has been a great friend to me. I ordered a hand stamped key chain for my husband for father’s day and a hand stamped keychain for my midwife from her and was very impressed with the products along with the adorable packaging.

Name: JessicaRae Jewellery
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Buisness Type: Jewellery Heirloom Design
Kiddos Names/ages: Owen 5, Layton 3.5, Quinn 2
Why did you decide to start a WAHM buisness?
It started as a craft/hobby that has since flourished into a business.I just wanted to do something creative that didn't involve the kids. Something that was just for me!

What if your most favorite part of having your own buisness?
The flexibility

What is your least favorite?
That everything is on my plate/shoulders alone

How long have you had your business? How long have you done your craft?
I have been creating jewellery for nearly 2 years now but the hand stamped heirloom part of my business has only been about 10 months
What has having your own business added to your life?
It has brought me back to my creative roots and reminded me Im not JUST a mom. Im a woman, a person, Im full of ideas and potential and I need to utilize every part of me possible to make my life whole and fulfilling.

What makes your business special?
I create pieces of wearable art that people can cherish forever. My most special piece was when I had a mom ask me to create her a family necklace with all her childrens names on it and that she wanted to include her angel baby and if that was possible. I was honoured that she trusted me with this task and we were both so happy with the results - these are the kinda things that make my business special and make me LOVE what I do <3

You can find Jessica’s jewelry on Facebook here or on her website here.

Here are a few of my favorites:

This is what I ordered my husband for father’s day to go along with his guitar hero addiction.

Gorgeous!

Support a mom, support a family, buy work at home MOM made!

Getting Organized

2011-01-04T08:00:00.001-08:00

I know we are all really geared up for those resolutions. It is only 4 days into the month, surely you haven’t given up already?! One thing that I’ve come to realize is that my toy addiction makes our house a not so cleaned up space. Also I want Rett to be able to sit at the train table and wow! there are trains there. Same for his kitchen, dollhouse, blocks, etc. I want him to be able to play when he’s ready to. So we did a few changes for the new year to give us and him a more organized way to keep the house cleaned up and to make sure all his toys are in the correct area. When he’s ready to play, he can get to work!

Because our house is two levels and the kids’ bedrooms are upstairs, bedroom storage isn’t an option. All toys are downstairs in our living space and where everyone who comes in can view them. So our house looks like ToysRUs. That’s ok, the kids have a blast everyday!

This is the only purchase we actually made. This is our new diaper organization system. I’d like to tell you that is all my dipes, but half of them are in the laundry right now. It also serves as a child laundry dumping ground until they get ferried upstairs to their closets. I only seem to have time to hang up laundry when the kids are asleep and then I can’t access their room. I need a plan for that too! But for now, this will work. I wish I had a before picture of this. It took us 2 year to get something like this for our diapers. This area was a nightmare previously!

This is Rett’s $30 craiglist train table and his plastic chairs I dumpster dove from the house across the street. Under his train table he has 3 laundry baskets. One holds trains and track, one holds Little People and the other holds miscellaneous (plastic dinosaurs to eat the little people, etc). Still need ideas on how to store the huge Little People sets.

This is the dollhouse area. Two were bought off craigslist but the nicest one I dumpster dove from the house across the street. Do my kids need 3 dollhouses? Yes they do! Someday I’m going to have more kids and they each deserve their own dollhouse residence. I’ll admit I got sick of picking up the furniture and I worried that Rett would break it before he was really even able to play with it so most is out in the garage. What’s left is in that little basket there under the side table.

Here is our kitchen zone. Pathetic kitchen, I know. But for now it works. I’m hoping to upgrade eventually and for this one to go live out in our playhouse. But for now it does its job and Rett has cooked up many a dinosaur on his little stove. The green basket holds what kitchen materials I let him have (most are upstairs in his room.. once again got tired of pickng up a million pieces. I also stored the doll babies in here to make it more of a housekeeping center. When I *cough* I mean Santa, gives Evie her baby care center for Christmas it can go here too. My dream is to have a house with a playroom so they can also have the tea table that’s in Evie’s room (an awesome Goodwill find) to serve on. That will have to wait however, this house doesn’t have the extra space!

This coffee table has been living out in the garage while I had babies learning to walk and babies just chilling on the floor. Didn’t want the little ones getting squished. Since I’ve stopped watching other babies, its has moved back into the living room. I’m using the tuck space under the top for wood puzzles (thanks Jen for that idea!). One basket holds all his wooden toys and pieces, the other has cars. The table top makes an excellent road.

This is what Rett did while I attempted to take these pictures.

Image is linked:

Brownie Scraps has welcomed 3 new guests for this month and one of them is Michelle! I’m so excited for her! Today only you can pick up their collab for 25% off! I love these colors that are perfect for girls or boys. Here is my layout using this kit:

This is the last day that I watched Noah. He had been here since he was 3 months old. We recently went to the zoo with him. He and Rett were so excited to see each other they ran around screaming for about five minutes. We will still get the boys together, especially over the summer!

And here is your freebie for today!

Have you been getting more organized lately? I’d love to hear about it!

Share Something Sweet

2011-01-03T14:07:00.001-08:00

This year one of my blogging goals is to inspire you on topics to blog about. Blogs that I love the most inspire me to be more like the mom, wife, person that I want to be. They give me great, doable ideas. Sure sometimes their spotless houses and expensive furniture make me want to gag a little but if I remind myself that I have two kids 2 and under.. I don’t feel quite as guilty.

Today’s inspiration is to bake, make or create something yourself to give to someone you love to share with people in their lives that you don’t have contact with. I like to make things for my husband to take to work. I know he secretly enjoys it. Maybe it’s a big boy show and tell sort of thing. Who doesn’t like to share with their friends though? So sometime this week, bake a batch of brownies, whip up some chex mix or make a fruit salad if you’re anti sugar and send it to work with your husband, to school for snack with your child, to Sunday school class this weekend or sometime when your loved ones aren’t with you but with others that impact their lives. I’m thankful that my husband has great co workers and that he enjoys going to work everyday. This in turn blesses our family with a happy daddy!

This is what I made my husband to take to work:

White Chocolate Cereal Bars

Ingredients:

4 cups mini marshmallows

8 oz white candy morsels

1/4 cup butter, cubed

6 cups of rice cereal (the guys that snap crackle pop)

Directions: throw together everything but the rice cereal and put it in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir it and then continue for another minute. Dump in the rice cereal and stir. Press yumminess into a 13x9 greased pan and cut into squares.

This recipe is really better to double if you have a bowl large enough to mix all that at once or to make twice because one bag of marshmellows is about 8 cups, the white candy usually comes in 12oz and I just use half, 1/4 cubeed butter if half a stick and those boxes of rice crisipies have tons in them of course.

And just so you aren’t too impressed with my clean table (the two inches you can see), here are the kids playing in the living room.

I’ll let you see my target furniture, big lots couch and those clothes piled up on the couch aren’t laundry.. those are the clothes from goodwill my mom picked up for the kids. It was a good day!

So my challenge to you is to make something, send it off and blog about it! Link up your blog here in my comments and I promise I’ll come visit!

Start 2011 at Brownie Scraps!

2011-01-02T11:52:00.001-08:00

It’s a new year and one of my resolutions is to blog more! I downloaded live writer to help with that since it seems to be much more user friendly. We’ll see how that goes.

So for all the readers that haven’t been around lately, hi! I’m Laura! A few things we may have in common:

1 I’m a SAHM (stay at home mom)

2. I have two kids, a boy (Rett, 2) and a girl (Evie, 7 months)

3. I knit

4. I scrapbook

5. I love to read.

6. I cloth diaper, baby wear and breastfeed.

7. I sing in the car. A lot. And throughout the day.

8. I used to teach first grade!

Ok now that I’ve gotten my re-introduction out of the way I’d really like to invite everyone to start their new year off right by joining the Brownie Scraps community. I just finished ordering a 100 page 2 year album for my son and a 100 page 0-6 month album for my daughter. I know for a fact this wouldn’t have happened without the friendship, kind comments and challenges that I participate in at Brownie Scraps.

This year there are a few new activities to make Brownie Scraps even more exciting! Becky started a book club which you can find the info to here. We are starting off with the book ‘Girl In Translation’. It is about a Chinese woman who comes to America as a young girl with the help of her aunt and is forced to live her childhood in horrible conditions at her apartment and to work long hours everyday at the factory alongside her mother after school. Despite all these hardships, she still manages to be the top student at school getting a free ride to a local private college prepatory school. You’ll fall in love with her brutal honesty and kind heart as she grows up in Chinatown. And as for the ending, the twist is both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time. I checked this out from my local library and some people say you can even download the e-books for your kindle from your library. If you don’t live in Tulsa, Oklahoma that is. We are having our book discussion January 20th so plenty of time to get in this easy read!

Next are all the awesome challenges happening each month at Brownie Scraps! Using current products gives you points and at the end of the month, depending on your points, you score some awesome coupons! Not to mention getting your scrapping done for the month. I love challenges to give me a nice surge of inspiration. I can always count on getting at least 8-10 layouts done just by completing the challenges. You can find the challenges here. You’ll also find some fabulous freebies in this area!

Ramona also has her ‘Scrap Your Life’ Project going on this year. Her focus is getting you scrapping the daily life NOW instead of always playing catch up. Getting your life scrapped and documented for your children and your children’s children. I love the quote ‘A birth certificate proves you were born, a death certificate proves you died but a scrapbook proves that you lived’. I am starting our own family album for the first time this year and am really excited to scrap more of our lives outside of just stuff with the kids, even though that is still the primary focus.

Every month Brownie Scraps has a different host for their Daily Brownie Bytes. Each day you come and collect another piece of this free kit and at the end of the month, you have an awesome freebie! This month Ramona is hosting and getting the year started out by scrapping all those weight loss goals and activities that are on your resolution list! Check out the Daily Brownie Bytes here. If you don’t want to come by everyday and collect them, you can also join the Brownie Scraps January Addicts club to get it all in one download plus a lot of other fun projects going on throughout the month available only to members!

With so many fun things happening over at Brownie Scraps, I hope to see your introduction thread soon and see you joining in with us for a year of scrapping, sharing and friendship!

Some new knits

2010-08-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend was incredibly, insanely busy! We hit the park on Saturday morning, had a birthday party in the afternoon and a dinner invite in the evening. The kids both slept extremely well! I have been getting a few things knitted up to put up on my facebook page.

This was just a cat I knit for Rett to use up some yarn Mom bought me at goodwill. I think Tom and I had more fun playing with it then Rett. I will say it still needs a face. Maybe that threw him off. With his current cat obsession I figured he's be more enthused.

A new color of hat to add to the ever growing collection.

Here's Evie's winter hat. It turned out way too large as you can see it fits Elyse perfectly and she's going to be 1 this week. It may end up being her birthday gift.

And a boy version that a girl ordered off Facebook. She and I were pregnant with our latest babies together. Its so fun to knit for online friends. You can join my facebook fan page here. Let me know that you joined from the blog! Its so cool to see how people find different pages across the net.

Next on my list are some sort of present for Elyse for this weekend, and then some leg warmers for Evie's skirts this winter.

I recently got accepted onto the GottaPixel ct team. 70 girls applied so it was a much wanted position and I'm sort of proud of myself for getting to this point in my scrapping.

My first assignment was Geek Chic Scraps.

I chose to work with two of her kits.

This one with the bright, fun colors just screams birthday parties, ice cream and summertime to me!

And this one:

This one seems to be about teen girls, parties and dress up. Overall I am very impressed with the papers and elements. So many fun, bright patterned papers and the elements really come to life with some shadow work.

Here is your freebie for today:

Don't forget to sign up for my knitted hat give away here!

Finally a cool day!

2010-08-20T07:12:00.001-07:00

I don't know about everyone else but we have been suffering from temps above 100 for weeks now. FINALLY we got some rain and a few days ago the temperature was in the 80's. We almost had to pull out the jackets. The boys were so excited to get a chance to play outside without sweating like crazy.

The 'I really have to share the swing with Noah?' face

The 'I just heard a helicopter' face.

And one of Evie:

ALMOST caught a smile. She's smiling all the time now but I can't seem to catch one. I'll keep trying though! I can't believe we're already half way through her second month. Time flies even faster with the second one.

Ramona has a lot of new releases lately that are just awesome.

This one actually includes buttons and doilies from on of the ct gal's grandmother's.

And here's a pet one. Of course having no pets but the outside car, I had to be creative with this.

Last week I created this layout with Back To School. Its up for layout of the week at Brownie Scraps. So if you download my freebie PLEASE go here and vote for Alphabet Soup by LauraLea

Here is your freebie for today! If you enjoy my freebies, pay it forward by voting here!!

Balloon Festival disaster

2010-08-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we read about a free family event taking place about 30 minutes from us. I've went to the balloon festival a few times as a kid and thought Rett would love it. So we got up early to beat the heat and set off on our mini road trip. First let me tell you, the husband wrote out the directions. I didn't even look at them before he wrote them down so no way to translate from reality to what he wrote. Regardless.. we couldn't find it.

We drove and drove and drove. You'd think.. balloons. HUGE BALLOONS. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to spot them? But not a balloon in sight. We drove and drove and drove. Eventually we ended up just driving up and down the back roads and saw some pretty nifty things which I now wish I had photographed.

This is what it looked like in the car:

We decided to drive all the way back the opposite way and try there. Here are a few of the in town spectacles.

Sorry this road trip was so boring I'm resorting to these pathetic pictures. I'm sure you're holding onto hope that at some point you will see some balloons.

So when we realized there was no place for balloons in town, we turned around and drove BACK to where we were.

And at this point.. my camera battery died. So no hope for balloon pictures. This is when my husband decides to stop at the casino (yes very classy right) to see where in the heck this place it. He comes out and announces we are there. The balloons left at 7 that morning for a race. So our fun family event is to watch lawn mower races. Seriously. I wish I had pictures of that. Rett was the only one entertained. So we climbed back into our car and went home. Great story right?

Well on a better note, Spinky Dink Scraps has a lot of gorgeous new releases. I'm so excited to be on her team. She is such a fun person and I've already got to work with a lot of beautiful products. Here are a few new releases/re releases:

ADORABLE little boy kit. Especially with all the mini buzz lightyears running around lately. This one is also on sale right now.

A little more girly. I think this one is going to work out perfectly with fall layouts.

Another little boy kit. I love the elements and extras in this one. Especially with my little train fan.

And here's your freebie for today!

4 shared is really annoying me lately so I may be looking to host elsewhere soon. Also if you want more FREEBIES, check out my knitted hat give away!

Sleeping on the Floor

2010-08-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

***********Caution********** ************Caution**********

We are nearing two. Enough said.

In between laughing that sounds ALMOST like crying, the constant tugging on my leg and the demanding to do anything that he's not supposed to, I am actually still scrapping. It is a miracle. A few days ago he threw a fit because I dared offer him his sippy. I just remind myself that I love my child and someday soon he'll return to his precious self. Hopefully before I kill him.

So another new thing, which I think is growth spurt related, is he's finally falling asleep on the floor. He has never done this and I am so intrigued. So the first time, I was scrapping on the computer, turned around and there he was. This is what I saw:

Don't worry, he didn't suffer any bodily harm from being squished by that alligator. You can get that alligator at IKEA by the way. I love him :) So I had to post this on Facebook and everyone had a great laugh. I thought it was a fluke.

Next day:

This time on top of books cuddled up to a shirt out of the laundry. Now this is just desperation. I hope his growth spurt passes soon!

Rachael has been a busy little bee! She has two new releases.

This is a collab with her friend Late Night Scraps. So fun for all those playground shots!

Here is my layout using this one:

Little Rett and Noah! Noah is starting back next week so all four kids will be here. I'm happy Rett will have his entertainment back!

She also released this one over at the Daily Scrapper.

That's right. TWO boyish kits! I had a great week last week :)

Here is my layout using this one:

You can also snag this over at ScrapMatters

Get a jump start on Halloween!

And here is your freebie for today:

Don't forget to sign up for my knitted give away here! Just two weeks to go!

Building Block Fun and New Releases!

2010-08-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for Rett to get big enough to actually 'play'. Not just throw toys around and make a mess. And he's getting there. Kind of. Mostly when we play together, he destroys my towers, pushes over my train tracks and throws the stuffed animal across the room. Its a process. I dug out the blocks last week and he could actually put them together!

And Evie is still adorable! She goes for her 2 month appt today which means shots for the first time. I'm not sure her exact weight but I'm guessing around 12 lbs Here she is!

And here's Rett at the same age:

We're headed to the pool today so that should be fun!

Don't forget about my new knitting give away! Click here and post a comment to sign up!

Ramona had a new release last Friday just in time for the big gear up for back to school. I must admit I'm missing my classroom and the kids in brand new school clothes with their back packs loaded down with supplies. But my babies need me!

I love the lined paper and the adorable little back to school elements. So cute! Right now you can pick up the big bundle for only $6 which is only a dollar more then just the kit by itself!

Here is my layout using this kit:

And because summer isn't quite over yet, geniaBeana put out this adorable watermelon kit. Here's the preview:

I already had these pics from the 4th of July that I had been dying to scrap. His first watermelon :)

And Evie had this outfit so I did a little photo shoot for this kit. I love when the kits get me taking pictures instead of the other way around!

And here's your freebie for today:

We have a winner! And August's give away begins.

2010-08-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

I actually got nervous when drawing for the winner this month and I couldn't even win! Our big winner was LoveSpell13! Please e mail me at lifeislovephotography@gmail.com to claim your little hat :) If anyone else is still interested in having one of these cuties, they are $12. Just send your paypal info to that e mail as well.

I reopened my Etsy store since things have calmed down a little around here.

Ok on to August's give away! This month I'm going to spell things out a little bit better. I will post the give away item at the beginning of the month and you have all month to enter to win. This month I'm going to offer multiple entries. 1 entry is just a comment, 1 entry for 'liking' my facebook fan page, 1 entry for advertising this give away somewhere (your blog, facebook, twitter). Just post multiple comments with what you did. So if you post on your blog, comment that you did that and leave me a link to your blog.

Here is this months give away:

My little hat trio :) You can actually choose to have an all girl or all boy color set also, you'll just have to let me know. Even if you don't have a baby, three baby shower gifts ready to go!

I will draw for this one on August 31st and YOU MUST CHECK BACK HERE to see if you won! Once posted, you have two weeks to e mail me your info and claim your prize. So make sure you bookmark or follow my blog so you don't forget!

Rachael had an awesome release on Friday. Here is a preview:

I love the color scheme on this one! Here are my layouts:

And here's your freebie for today:

Baby knits make me happy

2010-07-30T07:25:00.001-07:00

Knitting boy booties is a challenge. They can't be too girly looking but they still have to be cute. So I knit this free ravelry pattern up. I thought they turned out pretty cute.

The hat is a pattern from Itty Bitty Hats from Susan B Anderson <3 href="http://laurasdailymadness.blogspot.com/search/label/give%20away">here and check back next week for the winner! Then on Monday I'll be starting another give away so follow the blog so you can keep up with all the fun!

Also check out my friend Ashley's blog here. She's giving away an adorable pillow case dress with matching bow!

I can't wait to open up my Etsy shop again! I'm only going to list items that are pre knit so it shouldn't be so stressful. Now to balance what will sell with what I want to knit!

Ramona had an adorable release today called 'A Pirate's Life'. Here's your preview:

Right now she has her bundle on sale for $6 which is only $1 more then the kit with a lot of extra goodies! Check it out here! And here are my layouts using this kit:

And here is your freebie for today!

At the Park

2010-07-27T07:12:00.001-07:00

I don't know what everyone else's weather has been like but here it has been HOT. Unbearably hot. The low has been 83 and that was at 2 am so I haven't been able to enjoy it. We decided this week our fun activity was going to be visiting the park. For lunch. I'm sure you can see the problem with this plan as that's the hottest part of the day. It was 98 degrees with a heat index of 105. We ate fast.

He's spotted the main attraction at this park.

Where'd it go?

The chase is on. I admit it was a little scary how close these guys will let you get.

And Evie was really living it up. So after our 30 minute park trip, we left in a daze.

Geniabeana has a new release out today! Its a remake of an older kit and I LOVE the colors! Here is the preview:

Its on sale right now so catch it at a great price!

Here are my layouts:

Teeny tiny Evie. I can't believe she's going to be 2 months old next week!

Don't forget to get your comment in for the drawing for my knit hat here. I'm drawing for that this Friday! I'll be having another give away starting in August so make sure you follow the blog so you don't miss out!

And here's your freebie for today:

My little princess

2010-07-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

Evie is officially six weeks old today. I thought time flew with Rett.. I just had no idea. When you already have one to keep you jumping all day, it goes by twice as fast. So at six weeks Evie can: smile, support her head, on her belly she can turn her head from one side to the other and she can be completely adorable. She caught onto that fast. She sleeps 6-8 hours straight at night and 4-5 hours between feedings during the day. She hates having her diapers changed but she loves snuggling up with mommy and having her butt patted. And here she is.. all adorable six weeks worth of her.

My first time photographing a tutu.. did pretty well.

Ramona has her new release out today. Its called Calico Girl and it is 100% adorable.

Here are my pages:

This is my mother (the oldest girl) with four of her five siblings and her cousin.

And here is your freebie for today:

The download includes both word art's. Have a great weekend!

Kitties!

2010-07-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

Isn't it strange how strays seem to find people instead of the other way around? My friend Brittany found six kittens in a tree and of course, had to take them home. Now she's trying to find new homes for them. So I took some pictures to help her advertise their cuteness.

So far.. nothing. We'd love to get one but I'm afraid of scratched up babies. They are so cute though.

I've got some different things set up to do some Evie pictures today. No real occasion, I just want to do pictures. I love being a photographer.

Some mega sales to announce:

Brownie Scraps is also retiring their mega collabs and has them for only $3.

Brownie Scraps is having a really fun event this month which I chose to participate in. Its kept me super busy scrapping, which I love. For one event there is a contest on which team can scrap the most layouts so I've been doing all the normal challenges too. For the Unbaked Challenge, you have to either design or scrap from a certain color pallette. And that's where I found this (and a whole lot more, go check it out):

**********FREE***********FREE**********FREE************

click the image to scoop it up!

And so I scrapped this:

Here is your freebie for today:

Splash Park.. here we come!

2010-07-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Since I watch one (or two, depends on the day) additional kids at my house that puts me with 3 (or 4) under 2. One being six weeks old of adorableness. So we don't go anywhere. Ever. Except on the weekends! So I have made it a goal of mine to do one cool thing every weekend. More then that and I get a bit overwhelmed. Its really hard to do stuff outside when you have a newborn. They can't wear sunscreen and they get hot so easily. I sort of like having a winter baby better.

Ok so this weekend our cool thing was the splash pad. Rett does swimming lessons every week so he's happy in the water but I was sure about the whole spray in the face thing and how he'd do with it. At first he was pretty reluctant but he came around.

Here are a few highlights of our fun time:

When we first got there.. kinda checking out the place.

I remembered that we still had the purple bucket in the car from berry picking.. so Daddy went and got that and is now leading him off

I love my wide angle lens.

Look, Jen, I did some framing! I totally didn't mean to though.

I love photographing water! Doesn't this look so neat?

There's my boy! And I've officially noticed a difference with the amber necklace. Rett slept in till 7:30 two mornings in a row!

Next weekend we are hitting the community pool that has a really nice toddler area so hopefully those pictures turn out cute also.

Nobody's released anything lately so nothing to post for scrapping.

Don't forget to sign up for the free knitted hat I'm giving away here.

Here is a word art I created for part of the free kid for Scrappin' Family Reunion over at Brownie Scraps.

I never realized how fast I could move..

2010-07-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have to admit it. Evie is not the perfect baby. *gasp!* Sure she sleeps all the time, gains weight perfectly and looks adorable in dresses.. but underneath all that is her hidden flaw. Or not so hidden if its 5:30 in the morning, you're completely asleep and then all of a sudden.. you're covered in spit up milk. I'm not talking about a little. I'm talking about an ounce or two. I think my darling daughter is overeating as this is the tenth time or so that she's done this.. but I'm not sure. I'm glad she's a good nurser.. maybe a little TOO good though.

Mom brought over some thing that they gave her at the doctor when I was 3 months old. I find it interesting that even in 1983 the formula companies were advertising through the doctor's offices. It says ENFAMIL on it by formula. First off, at 3 months I weighed 17lbs. WOW! I was a chunk.

Ok so here are some of the highlights.

Offer baby orange juice or tomato juice (4-6 tablespoons or as much as baby will take)
Bathe baby. Bottle feed and give 1 tablespoon precooked cereal.

A short sunbath may be given if weather permits, followed by a long nap (indoors or outdoors, according to the weather).

Later, if the weather is nice, give baby an airing in his buggy.

Undress baby in late afternoon and put him on big bed to kick and stretch. Make sure open sides of bed are guarded.

Offer baby plain, boiled water two to three times a day.

Keep in mind this is for 4-5 month old babies. Wow how times have changed.

I need to take pictures. I'll get on that this weekend.

So today Ramona has a new release:

I love the bright summer colors in this one. You can go here to have a chance to win it!

Here are my layouts:

Also Brownie Scraps is gearing up for the August Addicts. Go here to buy it now for $6, the price jumps to $9 once August is here.

Here is your freebie for today!

Knitting... a love/hate relationship and a give away

2010-07-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

I think knitting is one of those crafts where EVERYONE has one friend that just is dying to learn. Well luckily I was that friend BUT I also had a friend that actually knew how to knit. And I got pregnant. Nothing like dreaming of covering tiny baby parts with hand knitted items to pick up some needles. So over two years ago, I picked up a pair, had a quick lesson and I learned. Slowly.

If you are that friend and you want to learn how to knit, I recommend the book Stitch 'N Bitch. Most local libraries carry it so you can just check it out if you want. It will teach you a skill and have you complete a project using that skill. Its a wonderful teacher! If you need a little more help, youtube has videos which, if you're like me, you can stop and rewind as many times as you need to. Its really not that scary.

I have to admit that Rett never wore any hand knitted items. Neither has Evie. But my love of knitting did incite me to start knitting for my photography and then I opened my Etsy store. My store is currently closed up due to my current busy life BUT I'm going to be giving away one newborn hat like this one, modeled by my little Evie.

How do you enter? Just leave a comment about something YOU would like to learn how to do. Then check back here July 30th for the winner! Spread the word and let you friends know! Make sure you follow my blog so you aren't left behind in case I sneak in more knitted give aways... I'm seeing a pair of booties in the future.

Ok on to scrapping.

Another gorgeous release from Creations by Rachael. All the realistic elements in this one just amazed me. This is definitely one of my most go-to kits of the moment. Here is the preview:

Isn't it breathtaking? It makes me think of spring and also of frozen sherbet. Not sure where that comes from but regardless, this kit is just amazing.

Here are my layouts:

Oh, my.. what a surprise. They both feature Evie. The top one got LOTD at Brownie Scraps. Mostly for Evie's adorable Baby Gap dress probably. Its amazing to look at those two pictures and think that's only a month apart. Wow.

Here is your freebie for today!