MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

We Adore Him

We absolutely adore this little guy! He is at the BEST age right now! He is about to turn 3 and is seriously the funniest kid ever! He is always making everyone smile and laugh! At times he has the deepest most scruffiest voice and at other times it squeaks like a high-pitched little mouse! He talks like he is 20 years old and says things that baffle all of us! His new thing is that he says "thank you mommy" and "thank you daddy" every time we give him something or tell him something. I am always telling him how cute he is and every time I get the same reply in the cutest ever voice, "thank you mommy!" It is enough to make you want to freeze him in time! The other thing I always ask him is "who made you so cute?" and every time he gives me this sigh like he cannot figure out why I never stop asking and then he says "I told you already.... Jesus."

Happy Birthday and Senior Pictures!

Matthew and Nathan both have birthdays this month so we are celebrating today with a giant party! They are both so excited and we have lots of little friends coming over this afternoon! I am busy getting ready - making cakes, putting together favor bags and figuring out some fun games for them to play!

I want to share a few more senior pictures with you in honor of graduation coming up. School is definitely winding down and we are getting close to being out for summer break! For us that means lots and lots of heat and trying to find some things to do to stay cool... swimming, summer movie group and trips to indoor play places like Peter Piper Pizza and Chick-Fil-A!!

What are your favorite activities to do in the summer to beat the heat? I would love some new and fun ideas!!

Have a great Friday!!

Action Samples

Hi there! Just popping in to share some examples of what you can do with my actions. I want to show how they can be mixed and matched and used together to create a ton of different looks. I took some fun photos of my kids when we were up in Utah this month and I just started playing around with them. It is fun to see the different images you can create based on which actions you use and in which order.

Below are just a few different combinations that I wanted to show you. (Click on the images to see them larger.)

Here is the original and then I did the basic vintage followed by the extreme color action.

Here are a few more samples showing even more combinations. On the first sample I ran the extreme color followed by the simple color boost because I wanted a tiny bit more pop. Then the next sample shows the extreme color followed by the yellow vintage and then the warm vintage. On the last one I ran the extreme color and then the yellow vintage twice to make it very vintage looking.

I could just sit on here and play around for hours trying different combinations! It is fun to see what happens each time you layer another action over the previous one! Now, the hard part is choosing which version I like the best! :) As of now, I think this one is my favorite... extreme color followed by yellow vintage and then warm vintage.

What do you think? Let me know if you have a favorite combination that I haven't shown yet! I would love to try it and share it with everyone!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Senior Photos

It is almost the end of the school year and I have had the great opportunity to do a handful of senior photo shoots this year! I have loved each and every one of these shoots! It is so fun to spend an entire shoot on one person! I love the outfit changes and all of the different things we can do! Fun stuff!!

Here are a few, with more to come later... One thing I can't get over is how beautiful all of these girls are!! They all should be models, don't you think??

All of these were edited with my photoshop actions. Thank you for all of your support and thanks to those of you that have shared some of your images with me! I am so glad that you are liking them! Please always feel free to email me if you need help with anything!

Oh, one more thing... Have you seen this yet?

So fun and exciting -- Emily and I are on the cover of the Creating Keepsakes magazine this month! I have known it was coming for a while but I have to say I was still taken back when I first saw it on the rack in the grocery store!! I took pictures with my phone!! Thanks to my great friend and also great photographer Kristyn for taking this photo of us. It is one that I will always love and treasure! (I also swiped this image from her blog... hope you don't mind Kristyn! :) I have been meaning to take a picture of it but just haven't gotten to it yet!) Fun stuff!!

oh neglected blog...

We have had a ton of things going on...

I have taken a bunch of photos....

and yet I haven't made it on here to share anything.....

and I'm not on my computer so I still can't share any photos until tomorrow...

The ultimate scrapbooking, photo taking, most amazingly funny and dearest friend, Loni Stevens, was at my house for an entire week!! I know.... lucky huh? She is the best! We didn't stop talking for one second and we laughed into the wee hours of the night each and every night! I am still recovering from a week of no sleep but it was so worth it! She is the best.... in so many ways! I love that girl!

I taught at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Mesa last Friday and Saturday. Met a ton of very fun and enthusiastic scrapbookers, talked until my voice was gone, ate the most fabulous lunch at Rosa's both days and finally got to meet some other amazingly talented  (and famous) scrapbookers in person - friends that I have made through email and blogging and finally got a chance to meet... Becky Higgins, Elizabeth Kartchner, Tena Sprenger, Kah Mei from Fontwerks!!! All of them were even sweeter in person than I could have imagined. Fabulous ladies to say the very least!

I did two more senior photo shoots that I can't wait to share with you. I don't know how I get so lucky to be able to shoot the most beautiful girls around! They were both so cute and so fun, each in their own way. One of them let me choose the location so I was excited to do something a little different and I love how the pictures turned out. Lots to share in the coming weeks!!

Loni and I also stumbled upon the most amazing location the other day which I can't wait to shoot at. I am going to try to take my kiddos down there soon so I have some photos to share. Loni took a bunch of me, but I don't know how many of those I will let you see! :) I was going to take some of her but I didn't have my camera and her camera started acting up and was not focusing so I didn't get any. We wanted to go back the next day but didn't have time. Anyway, if you are ready for family photos and want a fun and fabulous and different location, call me!! I can't wait to shoot a family here... so fun!!

Well, that's it for now...

much more to come later...

and photos will be included, I promise!!

Baby Love

I'm so excited to announce the new Making Memories idea book that I contributed to -- Baby Love! This was one of my favorite books to work on because I love babies and all things related! Babies are just so cute and precious right - what's not to love? All of the projects I created for this book mean a lot to me and it is always so exciting when the book finally comes out and I can share them with all of you!
The book has nine chapters that are full of inspiring creations -- from baby gifts and thank you notes to baby home decor and shower ideas. Making Memories is celebrating the arrival of this new book over on their blog this week. They are showing some sample ideas from the book and they are giving away one copy of the book EVERY DAY this week!! Fun right?
Below is a display board that I created for the book. What I love about it is the fact that this board can be used in a baby nursery to display photos and memorabilia but it could also work anywhere in your home. You could easily modify it to fit any color scheme!

I was just reading through the comments about this display board over on the Making Memories blog and I wanted to answer some of your questions. (Also, thank you so much for all of your kind words - I'm so glad you like it!!) It is the Making Memories magnetic display board that is part of their modular system. It is silver when you buy it. I just painted it with Making Memories paint and then glued all of my paper and embellishments right on top. The paint and embellishments do not alter the magnetic quality of the board. As long as you have a nice strong magnet, it will hold through all of that. If you have any other questions, please ask!!

Thanks again! And be sure to check out the Making Memories blog so you can have a chance to win a copy of the book!

Happy....

Making Memories is featuring a scrapbook layout that I created over on their blog today. It is all about the word HAPPY!! Here is a sneak peek of my layout and you can see the details and the entire layout here!

The photograph on my layout was taken by my new friend and fabulous photographer, Shannon!! We met in Chicago and she is so sweet and so fun! I hardly ever get photos with me in them because I am always the one behind the camera! My other friend, Kristyn, was actually taking pictures of me and making me be all crazy and silly and Shannon was over to the side snapping away also. Thanks for the photo Shannon! Fun to have a different perspective!!

Have a great day!!

Some Oldies

Looking back through some older pictures that I took last year and wanted to share a few.

This last picture is Matthew, to a "T"... totally captures his personality! It's one of our favorites! I printed the last two on metallic paper at 16x20 and hung them in his room. They make such a statement! I was nervous at first to go that big but I love seeing them every time I glance toward his room! They make me smile!

Sharing...

A layout I did with Lisa Bearnson's Kit of the Month:

The kit is called "Details Enclosed" and I have to say that this is one of my favorite kits I have ever seen!! There are all sorts of folders, pockets, envelopes, journaling cards, etc. The layout above is actually a large folder that opens from the top. What I am going to do is stick in all of the random things that I want to save during the year that relate to Tyler. I plan to make another one for each of my kids.

All of the products in the kit are so well-designed -- cool colors, amazing typography, embossing... I LOVE it all!! There are 140 total pieces in the kit and the image below is just a sampling of what you get. The kit includes a similar amount of product as shown in the image below in 12 different colors - teal, green, light blue, salmon (pinkish-orange), purple, orange, black, brown, yellow, red, pink & white. If you click here you will see exactly what you get and all of the colors... so cool!!

Also be sure to hit the "see kit details" button where you can check out a bunch of different samples - two that I did and then a ton of others by some amazingly talented artists!! It's always fun to see what different people do with the same kit!!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

My Actions

I am so excited to announce that I am now selling my photoshop actions!

People are always asking me how I edit my photos to get them looking the way they do. And honestly in the past, I couldn't say that there was a consistent process in my workflow. I had a bunch of different actions and would end up running them and then tweaking things or changing things to get the image to look just how I wanted it.

One thing that always bothered me was that some actions literally take ages to run because there are so many steps in them. I am a "keep it simple" girl and I believe in making things quicker and easier so that we all can spend more time away from the computer. My actions are right to the point and run very quickly (just how I like them).

I have spent the past months perfecting my actions and fine-tuning them so that they give me nice consistent results every time - without a lot of time and effort. And I am excited to finally be at a point where I can share them and help you get the same look with your photos!!

I am starting with the release of my Vintage Action Set and my Color Action Set.

The Vintage Action Set includes 3 different actions that will give your images that old, worn, vintage look that we are all loving right now.

The Color Action Set includes 3 color actions along with a bonus action called "lighten up" which brightens your dark or underexposed images before you run the other actions. I have included my Simple Color Boost action that I use it on all of my every-day photos when I want a little punch without spending a lot of time.

The actions can also be used together as the sample below shows to get even more looks for your photos.

Click on the links to the left for all of the details or to purchase my actions! Thanks to everyone I have talked to about this for believing in me and for giving me the encouragement to take this leap! I asked a handful of people to try out my actions before I started selling them and I have been absolutely in awe over their response and their kind words and support!

I will continue to show more samples using my actions in the coming weeks and I would also love to see what you do with them so please share!!

Almost 9 Months...

... and getting so big!! I can't stop taking pictures of her! It is so much fun!!

I am in love with this onesie and matching blanket that I got from Quilt-Baby... seriously cute stuff they have over there! I also got the onesie with the little blue bird and the one with the mod butterfly! Too cute! I absolutely adore them - soft, simple, modern, handmade - right up my alley!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Also... some fun and exciting new things coming really soon that I am so excited to share with you - check back soon!!

Utah Photo Shoots

Hi everyone! It looks like I am going to be up in Utah next week and I know that there are many of you in Utah that have asked me about doing shoots when I am up there next.

This is kind of a last minute trip so I apologize for the short notice! But, if you can make it work, let me know and we can get you scheduled.

Either comment here or shoot me an email and we can talk about dates, times, etc.

Have a great day!

a few more of sweet baby A

I was so excited when Kelly pulled out the pink tutu! So much fun!

I think this last one is my favorite from the shoot. I don't really know why, but it speaks to me... love the lighting, the mood of it... her looking away. There's just something about it...

...love that I get to do this, that I get to capture things like this.

I can't get enough...

... of this adorable little girl!!

Here are a couple more of the little sweetheart that I posted about last week. This was her 1-year photo shoot! She was so great and lasted a lot longer than I thought she would! She was a trooper! The only thing was -- as soon as we met up to start the shoot, she reached out for me and wanted me to hold her! I was so flattered and thought it was so sweet! I thought - great, we are off to a good start! She likes me, even though she has only met me once before and it was months ago! But then, she couldn't figure out why I wanted to put her down and take pictures of her! She just wanted me to keep holding her!! Too cute!

And her mom, bless her heart, is the sweetest thing! I adore her! It is so wonderful when clients turn into friends and I am always amazed at how nice people are! She knows that I am a scrapbooker and so she brought be a cute jar filled with the most amazing ribbons! They are all pink, brown and white! (I had great intentions of taking a picture of it but haven't yet, so you will just have to imagine it!) How sweet is that? Thank you again Kelly!

More to come from this shoot later... my favorites.... see I am holding out on all of you now :) -- I'm trying to post more often, so I can't just show you all of them at once! Hehe!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Sneak Peek for Kelly

I have been told that I need to post more pictures and more often! I am sorry! I try to update as much as possible but I know I can do better! I am going to try for sweet and simple -- shorter posts and more often. So we will start out with a sneak peek of a session that I am proofing. Isn't she just adorable? More to come very soon!

We Have a Winner!

Hi everyone! Thanks for playing along! This was fun! I am overwhelmed at how many people posted! I really appreciate all of your support and all of the sweet comments! You all should say hello more often! I especially loved reading all of your interesting facts about yourselves! Each time I would receive a new comment in my email inbox, I would stop and read your interesting facts. Some of them made me say "wow, that is crazy!" and others literally made me laugh out loud! It was great getting to know a little tidbit about each of you!

Melissa said she could eat chips and salsa every day and I am totally with her on that one! Not so much the chips and salsa from the store but I love to eat them at a restaurant! I especially love the ones at a place near us called Rico's. They are warm and a just a little bit greasy with plenty of salt. Delicious!!

Annie and Marie are both getting married this year! Congrats to you guys!!

Renee - what in the world is a nutria???

The funniest for me was probably the fact that lindsay sleeps with one sock on and one sock off! And maybe that is not even funny to some but it gave me a chuckle!

Anyway, I could go on and on, but it was just fun to hear all of your random facts! Thanks for sharing!!

And finally, since I know you are dying to know who won......

It's DanelleB.:

Your style makes me want to create and I always want to see what new ideas you can share. I live in California about 50 miles east of San Francisco. I have 2 boys.. with my husband I guess I have 3 since he is such a little boy at heart :-)

Have a great week!!!
DanelleB.

Posted by: Danelle | March 11, 2008 at 08:53 AM

Congrats! Email me your address and I will get a box of scrapbooking goodies off to you next week!

Thanks again everyone! Like I said, it is overwhelming and crazy to think that I can be an inspiration to so many of you! What a fun and rewarding industry this is.... so thankful to be blessed with the opportunities that I have had! Hugs!!

Thank You and a Giveaway!

I wanted to say a huge Thank You to all of you that have commented and/or emailed me about the Creating Keepsakes cover! You are all so sweet and I am so glad that you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it! Each and every comment means a lot!!

And just to express my gratitude, I thought I would do a little giveaway! Sound good? To be included in the drawing, just leave a comment on this post and tell me something fun or interesting about yourself! I would love to get to know all of you a little better! You have until Tuesday night to leave a comment. On Wednesday morning I will draw a random person who will win a box of scrapbooking goodies from my stash! It will be a mix of products - some brand new and also some "oldies, but goodies."

Thanks again everyone!! Have a great day!

Finally, I Can Share This!

Do you recognize this adorable little girl? A few months ago Creating Keepsakes emailed me and asked me if they could use a photo from this shoot that I did for their COVER LAYOUT!! I was so excited and just so honored that they wanted to use one of my photos!! I quickly emailed her parents to ask permission and they were of course thrilled too!

A couple of days after that Creating Keepsakes emailed me again and asked me if I would create two layouts with the photo. They wanted me to send both of them in and then they would choose their favorite to use on the cover of the issue!! I was again super excited and of course, I said yes! Man, was that pressure! I know I create layouts all the time and have been published a lot but this was a big deal! I don't think I have ever been that nervous creating a layout before! I mean, what if I sent them in and they didn't like either of them enough to put on the cover! Scary stuff!!

I was so excited to see this in my mailbox the other day! It is so fun to actually see it in print and to hold it in my hands! And, naturally, her parents were thrilled too! They are being a little modest about it, but I told them they should shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone! It's not often that your daughter gets chosen to be on the cover of a magazine that gets mailed to people all around the world!

Unfortunately there was an editorial mistake and they accidentally removed the credit info and supply list at the last minute to move some things around and then it didn't get put back on. Kind of a bummer, I know. The super nice folks at CK feel so bad! But, nonetheless, this is huge for me and I am so thrilled and honored!! You can see this layout up close and you can also view the alternate layout I created with the same photo at this link. The supply lists are there as well.

Thanks for stopping by and for letting me share this with you!! I am blessed to have had such amazing opportunities in my life!! Fun stuff!!!

We Love Nathan!

Making Memories is featuring a layout that I made over on their blog today. Here is a detail shot but you can see the entire layout along with the instructions over on their blog.

I obviously made this layout for Valentine's Day but I still have it up! I hung it in our kitchen where we could see it and I just can't bring myself to take it down! It just makes me smile when I see this picture of him! I think I am going to continue to hang layouts in this spot - just change them out every once in a while. I especially love the look of the die cut circle paper hanging up like this rather than just the typical square layout.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Senior Pictures

I had the privilege of photographing this gorgeous girl recently for her senior pictures. Not only is she amazingly beautiful on the outside, but I also happen to know her very well and she is a beautiful person on the inside too! She was a ton of fun to photograph and she was such a natural! I love how so much personality comes through on her photos! And her eyes... well, I will let you see for yourself!

It took me a while to get her proofs done because there were just too many good ones to choose from! I had such a hard time narrowing it down, but I finally got it done and I am excited for her to see them! Here are a few of my favorites and as always, you can view the entire album here. (Actually, they are all my favorite... she is just too cute!)

Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it's a good one for all of you!! HUGS!!

Scarlet Lime Scrapbook Kits

I was lucky enough to be asked to join Scarlet Lime this month as their guest artist! I was asked to put together a kit of some of my favorite products and then design a project using the kit! It was a lot of fun and I absolutely love how the kit turned out - full of fun stuff! Unfortunately it sold out a few hours after it went on sale so they are all gone but I wanted to share the projects I did with it.

This first project is a piece of plexiglass (that came with the kit) that I designed and embellished as a home decor item. You could either take the glass out of a frame and frame the whole piece or just leave it by itself and lean it on a shelf or table. I have had it sitting in many different spots in my home and it works everywhere! If you bought my kit you will get the complete instructions to make this!

After making the project I had so much left over that I didn't even use, so I wanted to show everyone another fun thing they could make with the same kit. This is a mini album, entitled "bits & pieces". I wanted to make a fun little book where I can record random thoughts, memories and photos. It is super simple. I decorated the cover and the first page and then left the remaining pages blank. When I get to each page, I will first do my journaling, add photos if any, and then if there is room left over, I will add a simple embellishment. This is a no-pressure, no-fuss way of scrapbooking (for my friends who "don't scrapbook"). You can record memories and photos in a little book like this and it doesn't have to be fancy or time-consuming! Keep it as simple as you want and if you are feeling more creative one day, then you can do a little more to that page. See, super easy, right?

All of the Scarlet Lime kits are awesome! I have a subscription so I get the main kit every month. I have to say that these kits are always bursting at the seams with tons of amazing products! I have never been disappointed or felt like I didn't get more than my money's worth! Another thing I absolutely love about these kits are the custom designed clear stamps! They are always super cute and many times you get more than one stamp in a kit!! LOVE that!

If you don't already subscribe and you are looking for a scrapbooking kit, this one is a must! They always sell out within hours so if you want to get in on the fun, you should definitely get on the waiting list for next month! I promise you will love these kits!

And last these are the pages I made using this month's main kit. It was awesome too - tons of beautiful products! I am so into the metallic embellishments right now - love the gold, silver and copper! Thanks, Christy, for asking me to be the guest artist! Fun stuff!

The rest...

Here are the rest of the photos from that last shoot.

My brother came down with his adorable little kiddos the day after Christmas and spent the week. It was so much fun! The kids all had a blast - playing and running, laughing, being silly and mischievous, etc. etc.

One of the things he really wanted to do was a photo shoot of him and the kids while he was here. We went to one of my favorite locations and I snapped away. It was super cold (for Arizona) and by the end of it the kids had little red noses and cheeks! It is always fun to take pictures of family and to be behind the camera putting what I see all the time "on paper" to last forever.

He is having a hard time choosing which ones to print so feel free to comment with your favorites and help him decide!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Sneak Peek for Darin

.........more to come soon!!

Such a Cute Family

Just popping in to share some photos from another recent photo shoot. This family was absolutely adorable! The little boys were so much fun and you could just tell how much their mama and daddy love them!!

One of my most favorite photos that I have ever taken comes from this shoot....

It was one of those last minute decisions... the kids were spent and I felt like we had all the shots we needed. But then as we were getting ready to leave an idea popped into my head and I told them to stop and take their shoes off. The cute mom was saying "oh, no... my toes are terrible and they aren't painted." I said something like "oh, don't be silly, I bet they are fine." And then the funny part was that dad agreed with mom and said "no, really, they are bad." (chuckle)... I assured them that you wouldn't be able to tell....

and then this is what I captured... priceless

Here are a few more from the shoot and you can view the entire album here.

---------------------------------

And before I go I will leave you with a few of our own little sweetie! Isn't she getting big?

... played around a little on these last two with borders and some funky processing... just for fun! :)

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I know I have been completely missing for a while and many of you are wondering what happened to me!!
Hope you all had a great holiday season!!

I am still alive; I have just been super busy!! We had a great Christmas and had some family in town and then I had a bunch of scrapbooking deadlines to meet and now I am finally coming up for air!

Now, I am feeling that urge to clean out my studio/office and de-clutter, reorganize, etc! I think I always get that urge after I do a bunch of projects! Even though I always clean up and put things away in between projects, it seems that some things just get tossed aside and not everything gets back in its proper place. I also have a huge pile of fun Christmas cards that I received and I would love to do something creative with them - make a mini album or something. I hate to just toss them because I know how much work goes into each card!

Anyway, here are some photos of my really good friend and her family. I took them right before Christmas and she was so patient, waiting for me to get to them after the holidays!! They have three adorable little girls - so spunky and fun!!

You can view the entire album here. Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great weekend!

Wrapping up the Holiday Photo Season

How fun it has been to be able to do photo shoots for so many fun and amazing families. I love to look back at all of their galleries and see each one and how each family is different and beautiful in their own way. Thanks to all of the families that I worked with this year! I look forward to seeing you all again next year!

To those of you that decided to wait until after the holidays to do your photos, call me so we can get you scheduled! I am booking in January and the Saturdays are going quickly!

I still have so many to share and want to get to each one so keep checking back!

This is a family that I photographed exactly a year ago when little baby "R" was born! I can't believe the difference in him in just a year!! Check it out:

This is him a year ago...

and this is him now...

What a little cutie right? Here are a few more favorites from their session and you can view the entire album here.

Thanks for stopping by!

More Candid Moments

I can't say enough how much I love the candid shots and how fun it is to capture the "in-between" moments... "in-between" the direction... "in-between" the poses, etc. It is a privilege for me to be there when families interact and do things as if I am not even there. I love to see the way they connect and what they do when I am not telling them what to do!

I love to hear from clients (as I did this past week) "This is one of my favorites. I had no idea you were even taking pictures at that time." I love to be able to surprise my families with the shots that were unplanned and that end up meaning so much to them!

Scrapbook Bakery

Who wants a chance to win something free??

Scrapbook Bakery - a fun online Scrapbook Store that sells monthly kits has a blog now!

And to celebrate, they are doing a give away! Yep - that's right - FREE products! All you have to do is go here and post a comment before Wednesday night and you could win!! Good luck!!

MM Desktop Carousel

If you like to be organized and if you like awesome products that help you to be organized, then this is a must have!

It is the desktop carousel by Making Memories and it is shipping now - in time for Christmas if you want to give it as a gift... or you could wrap it up for yourself and get it as a gift! lol!
It is obviously perfect for all of your scrapbooking tools and such, but it would also be perfect for arts and crafts supplies too -- pretty much anything!

If you want to order it go here!! I have been so excited for this to start shipping and I can't wait to get mine!! Yipee!!

The Sweetest Family

This family was so nice, so appreciative and just so great to work with! By the end of the shoot I felt like we were old friends and I really wanted to take their little guy home with me! He was adorable and such a little sweetie - we definitely became buds! Thanks Kelly for the opportunity to take your photos and to meet your gorgeous family. And thanks for being so sweet and kind! I can't wait to see you all again next year and to see how your little cuties will have grown and changed!

I have lots of favorites from this shoot! It is hard to only pick a few! The entire album is here.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I can't believe how quickly the holidays have come upon us! It feels like the last couple of months have gone by in a blink! Lots to do this next month!!

Thanksgiving

Wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

So many things that I am grateful for and so many ways in which I am constantly and abundantly blessed!

I am thankful for this time of year when we are reminded to reflect and ponder and acknowledge all that we have.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and weekend with your family and loved ones!

The Candid Moments

I have lots of photos to share and have gotten behind somehow! I guess I am just busily trying to get to each client's photos so that they can see their proofs! Thanks to everyone for being so patient and understanding during this busy holiday season!!
You may have noticed the new banner up on the blog. I love these photos of the boys hanging upside down! This shoot was a blast! Not only are they great friends of ours but they were such a fun family to photograph. They have two boys and they were just so laid back and ready to try anything. It is a real treat when families go with the moment and aren't afraid to let me capture the candid moments -- the unplanned and spontaneous stuff! I love to catch a glimpse into who they really are and hopefully try to capture that on my camera!
Here are a couple of favorites (in addition to the two up on the banner) and then you can view the entire album here.

Thanks for stopping by! I have lots more to share so I will try to keep up!!

CK Dream Team!!

So, you all figured it out... I am on the first-ever creative team for the scrapbooking magazine, Creating Keepsakes! I think the announcement went live on their website right after I posted that!
A couple of months ago I received the phone call asking me to be on the team! I was so surprised and so honored and so excited! I was dying to tell everyone but obviously couldn't until they announced it, so I am happy to finally be able to share my news!!
Thanks to everyone for all of your sweet comments on the last post! I really am honored and so grateful for this and all of the opportunities that I have had so far!! Thank you to all of you for sharing in my excitement!!

so excited...

...to make a really huge and super super exciting announcement......

sometime today!!

sorry to tease but i can't tell yet!!!!!

any guesses?

scrapbook pages

Here are a few scrapbook pages that I have done recently of little Emily Jane. It is so fun to make girlie pages! A lot of the products I used were from a past kit from Jenni Bowlin Studio. Her kits are great - love all of her products actually! In fact I just ordered the current kit that is on her website right now. Can't wait to get it!