Glimps into My Life

Here is a glimpse into my life. I love to take my kids on outings. When I am not crafting, I am exploring our area through the eyes of a 3 and 6 year old. There is a farm close by our house that I took my daughter to explore. Here are a few of the things we saw! I did try to get a picture of 2 baby chicks we saw, but they ran under a bush before I got my phone out.

I loved this flag hanging on the wall. It's old, dirty, and perfect. I can imagine a dirty, tattered, tired soldier trudging home after serving his country. I am thinking I will turn this into a 4th of July decor, but I haven't got the details figure out in my head yet.

 I just loved the contrast of the blue and the orange. The old paint gives it a rustic look.

 Who can resist an old rusty tractor? Seriously?

 My daughter HAD to wear her Bell dress. Here she is peaking in a crack in a barn.

Rain Rain Go Away

***Giveaway ends January 6th. Go HERE to enter. ***

The middle of December brought a lot of rain to our area (3 days of nonstop to be exact). I just wanted to share some wonderful pictures I was able to capture of the delight my daughter found in every puddle. My camera battery died and I just barely found my charger so sorry this is so late in coming.

I am by no means an expert, but I was very pleased with capturing the spray of the water, each individual droplet of water cascading around her legs. And still getting a crisp image of my daughter running. I set my shutter speed very high and had my camera set on continuous shooting. So I took a LOT of photos very quickly. I just held the button down and snapped as she ran towards me. I weeded through the photos to find the ones I liked best.

This one I needed to lower my aperture, but it all happened so quickly that I didn't have time to adjust. So, I recommend just setting your aperture low to begin with.

She was soaked by the end, but she was so pleased to be able to put her rain boots to good use. My neighbor came out and watched for a bit. She told me later, "I am so glad you can allow your kids to be real kids."

Photo tip today is: Let your kids be real kids and let the pictures tell the story. Such a simple moment that made my daughter so happy and I have great photos to look back on the fun.

Birth Announcement

I made several birth announcements for my sister. Here are just 2 of them. What do you think. (all information is fictional on this announcement to protect the innocence of my niece)

I loved how they turned out. There may be a future in a digital business....but probably not. I just do it for fun and if you happen to be related to me or a really close friend, you will reap the benefits of my hobbies:)

Photoshoot

While in Idaho, I took some pictures of my sister's family. Here are some adorable photos. I am still learning to pose people, but I really think I am getting the hang of it.

Location #1

Location #2: (the baby would NOT cooperate.  He refused to have his picture taken).

Oh Baby

When I was visiting my family last week, I was privileged enough to take photos of my 2 week old niece. She is truly a beautiful baby and I believe these pictures captured that.

Day 1: She was wide awake and completely content.  She was willing to just lay there while I snapped away.

 

Holding mommy's hand

 

Sleeping in daddy's arms

 I loved this container we put her in. It was the perfect photo prop.

 This one was my favorite. She just looks so precious.

This picture I liked how her eyes were closed, but not how she pushed her leg out at the last second.

I liked this picture because she was in a great position, but her eyes were partly opened.

So, I took the eyes from the top photo and put them on the bottom photo and now I have the perfect photo of her:)

Dairy Free Ice Cream

My son has an allergy to dairy. My sister posted THIS about making ice cream in a bag. I remember doing this with her as a kid. Such fun! Well, I wanted to get my kids on the fun so I scourered the web for a dairy free ice cream recipe. There are a lot out there. You can make any of them without an ice cream machine too! Which was also a requirement, but I realized if the recipe is large, cut it down and make in a big Ziploc bag instead. BAM! Dairy free ice cream without an ice cream maker.

I used THIS recipe with these instructions from a comment left by Trinka

"Any container that is freezer safe will do. Simply pour and freeze as usual. Do not mix or you will get ice crystals. I've even made this in a freezer Ziploc type of bag so I could cut the corner and "soft -serve" right into the comes or bowls. To do this, take a 2 gallon zip loc bag and add ice cubes( 2 trays worth) and rock salt. In another 1 gallon bag, pour the blended mix. Zip it shut and place the mix bag into the 2 gallon bag with salt and ice. Zip shut but leave about 1 inch open for air to move freely. Knead and squish bags until you have soft-serve style ice cream ( yes, the kids can do this too!) Unzip ice and salt bag, pull out ice cream bag and dry with a towel. Cut the corner and squeeze into cones or bowls!"

Say Cheese....

I am still practicing on manual mode with my camera. A few days ago, we took a trip to the park with some friends. Here a few of my favorite pics.

These next 2 shots I love because they were candid moments I captured of my son playing.

He just made the slide look so much fun.

 Only this little princess can make the park look this glamorous.

 We had a visit from the tooth fairy a few days ago, can you tell. I can't get enough of of that toothless grin and the lisp that goes along with it. It makes me so happy.

I have a weakness for this little man. I cannot resist him. He is the happiest and snuggliest little man I have ever met. 

 

See...... he loves himself some brenbren;)

I am starting to feel like I am getting the hang of my camera. Every picture gets better and better.

Photo Shoot

My friend had her baby at my house the other day and we did an impromptu photo shoot. She is GORGEOUS! Can you seriously handle those blue eyes and long dark eyelashes!?! She is scrumptious!

 

 This picture was so tender. I loved that she is enjoying her momma's kisses so much.

Photography Giveaway

Well, my wonderful friends! I have decided to do a photography giveaway. My father in law took these pictures in Hawaii. He said he would let me give one lucky winner a print;) The lucky winner will get to choose one 5X7 or 8 X 10 from these photos.


To enter:
leave me a comment and tell me which one you would choose.


Extra entries:
1. become a follower (already a follower, just leave me a comment telling me)

2. blog/facebook/tweet about this give away and leave me a link to it.


Good luck. Giveaway ends March 14th!