MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Scrapbooking

I did this layout last week of Matthew and his birthday cake. I took the journaling straight from my blog - love that! I need to do that more!
My favorite thing about scrapbooking is the way my kids get so excited about it. I have a big magnet board in my studio where I hang my recent layouts and the boys literally freak out when they see a new one up there with them on it! Matthew comes in and starts yelling - "there's me, there's me!" and then Tyler wants to see if there is a new one of him up there too! Then they want me to get the layouts down so they can really look at it up close and check it all out. They are so proud and I love that. It really makes it all worthwhile and makes me realize that even if it is not my best layout ever, they still think it is the greatest. And if it makes them feel special, I feel like it is a success!!

And, just to let you know what I have been up to.... here's this:

...my work table that is literally buried! I was up late last night working on some deadlines and this is what I ended up with! I normally clean up in between every project because I like things clean and organized, but I was working on a bunch of different projects and I had to get them all done so I just kept pulling things out and wasn't putting anything away. It was like a whirlwind of products and creativity and tools and then when I was finally finished I actually realized what a mess I created and for some strange reason thought I would take a picture of it....
Now I just need to get it cleaned up so I can take some good pictures of my studio!!

Holmes Family Happenings

*Went school shopping on Saturday. The boys picked out a few outfits and some school supplies - pencils, paper, folders, scissors, glue, etc. Tyler starts pre-k today and he is super excited! Matthew starts preschool next week and he is beyond happy about it! He can't wait! I can't believe that they are starting already! It seems like summer should not be over yet! But at the same time, it will be good for them!!!

*I turned a whopping 28 years old last week! Brian took me to the J.W. Marriott in Scottsdale for a night to celebrate! It was fun and a good break! We went to dinner, got room service, got a couple's massage at the spa, went shopping. Thanks honey!!

*Nathan learned how to give high fives yesterday! He saw Tyler give me a high five and he immediately wanted to do it and reached up in the sky and was trying to put his hands together and do it to himself. So we taught him how to give us a high five and he is so proud of himself! He laughs every time!!

*Getting ready to buy my studio lighting and all that gear. I am still going to do location shoots but I think that I will mostly focus on studio photography for now. I just think that it will be more convenient to be able to do it here in my home when it works with our schedule. So, if you have any tips on what I should and shouldn't buy, please let me know!! I would really appreciate it!

*Trying to survive the Arizona heat!! We have been having record heat here this last week and I am telling you that it is HOT!! The funny thing is that there are times when I love it! I went to see The Devil Wears Prada last week with some friends and it was freezing in there. When we came out - at 11:30pm - and it was still like 95 degrees, it felt soooo good!! We pretty much stay inside during the day though because it is just too hot to be out there!

*Last I will leave you with this photo of Matthew. I took it up in Utah in my mom's backyard when we were there last month. This kid is such a little charmer!!

1001 Things...

There really are over 1000 things that we love about our little Nathan, aka Snoops, Snoopins, Nooterpunks, Nafanoots, Punkin Punkin Poops, Nate. We seriously have so many nicknames for him and we absolutely adore him!
He is the recipient of so much love in this family, especially from his two older brothers! They love to greet him each morning and ask him if he had a good sleep! They love to eat their meals right next to him. They love to cuddle with him and they love to play chase with him. They love to tuck him in and give him his blankies and his stuffed doggies that he sleeps with. They are always smothering him with kisses and love!
Right now Nathan absolutely loves the Backyardigans! It is really the only show that he will actually sit and watch and I think it is so cute! He will plop himself down right in the middle of the family room and sit there and watch the whole entire show!!
I took this picture one day while he was sitting there watching. I love the look on his face - so serious, so concentrated, so intent. I could just squeeze him!!!!!

Nafanoots

I just have to share this photo of Nathan from our most recent boating excursion. We took him twice this last week and he was such a trooper! He was really good and he loved getting in the water, loved chillin on the boat, loved watching everything that was going on!
These little life jackets are so funny because they can hardly move in them! He couldn't turn his head and his cheeks were all scrunched up the whole time! A couple of times he got stuck on the floor of the boat on his tummy and he couldn't get up! It was hilarious! What a little cutie!!

Scrapbook Layout Share

So, I admit, I haven't done any scrapbooking for myself lately. We have been so busy around here that I have only had time to work on assignments. Don't get me wrong, I love assignments - love the challenge - love creating with fresh new products.
But I also love to scrapbook just for me. I love to be able to pull out some photos and play around - with no rules - no guidelines and no expectations.
I was talking to a friend recently about how we put all of these crazy expectations on ourselves - expectations for every single layout to be amazing and perfect. And I think that because of these unrealistic expectations we don't scrapbook for fear that we might not create the perfect layout each and every time.
Well, I have decided to toss all of those expectations to the wind. I have come to the realization that I will never grow or develop as a scrapbooker, a photographer, or whatever unless I am always experimenting, always doing it and working on it. There will be unperfect layouts, unperfect photos but that is the only way that I will get any better at it. That is the only way I will figure out what I like and what I don't like - what works and what doesn't.
In the end, the important thing is that I am recording a memory - recording my thoughts and my feelings - documenting our lives and who we are.
I am recommited to scrapbooking more - just for me - just for my family.
And last night I did just that. I grabbed these photos of Nathan on his 1st birthday that I already had printed and I just started playing around. The funny thing is that it came together so quickly. After all, your own true style should just come naturally. It shouldn't be a stressful process. If what you are doing is truly "you", then it should just happen - it should be fun - it should be enjoyable.
So, my challenge to you is to throw out your expectations. Just grab some photos and some products and create a layout. Do what you love, regardless of what is hot or trendy right now. Do what is "you". Create a layout that feels right to you - no rules, no expectations. And last, please share it with me! Comment here with a link to your layout so that we can all see!

Hey Everyone...

Check this out -- a fun little tip from me over on the Making Memories Blog.

And speaking of color, I picked up the cutest rug for the playroom yesterday at Target. It was on sale for just $30 so I had to have it. I love rugs - they add so much to a room. They seem to make it more cozy and it is a great way to add color! I already have some blue and some green in there and I am in love with orange lately too so this will give me an opportunity to get some of that going on in there also! No purple or pinks in this playroom when I have three boys! lol!!

Now I am looking for some fun - "playroom type" - artwork to go in there. If you know of a good source or if you have seen any lately - let me know - please!! If I can't find any, I may just paint some canvases myself - I figure that anything goes these days right??

That's it for tonight. I have a huge pile of clothes waiting to be ironed and I just can't put it off any longer!!

Where Have I Been?

I know, I have been terrible at updating my blog lately and I vow to do better!!

It is definitely summer around here and we have just been busy playing and having fun!

Here's what we have been up to:

*swimming and lots of it - not much else you can do here when it is 105 degrees outside! -- tyler and matthew took their first set of swimming lessons and they were very timid at first but are now doing so much better! they will now jump off the diving board or the edge of the pool and swim to the side (with a life jacket or floaties on). they will both put their faces in and we are just working on kicking and "big arms"

*summer movie group - a bunch of girls in my neighborhood signed up for this and we go to a movie every week with the kids. a great way to get out of the heat and actually sit for a bit! the boys have loved it!

*decorating the house - got a big brown leather chair and then picked up an awesome modern green chair from target that i have been wanting. both of them went in the family room and they look great! i still have a lot of empty walls and a lot of ideas. i am just slowly picking things up now and adding a little at a time.

*scrapbooking/paper crafting - of course i have been doing some of this or actually a lot of it this last month. it just feels good to be in our house and to have my studio all set up with all my stuff in place. some fun new mm products coming out - can't wait for you all to see them!!

*thankful for family - my dad had some major surgery on his aorta a couple of weeks ago. it's a long story that i will share later but he is doing well and we are just so thankful that they caught the problem before it was too late.

*trip to utah - we just got back. i drove up with my sister-in-law and our kids last week and then our husbands flew up and met us up there. we just drove home today. spent a lot of time with family - spending time with my dad especially. went to the cars movie. hung out with loni and jessi. met some of my lifelong girlfriends - suzi, jen and jen for dinner. had lunch with friends from my old neighborhood. went to my parent's cabin for a day. went boating a couple of days with brian's family. went to the park city 4th of july parade. i have a ton of photos from the trip but i haven't uploaded them yet. will get them on here soon!

well - that's about it - our life for the past little while all summed up!!

things are good - life is good!