MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

sneak peek for natalie

Oh how I adore this girl!

I am lucky enough to know her...

she is adorably cute and ever so sweet!

I love photographing children that I have photographed before or that I already know because the connection is already there and I have an insight into their personalities... makes it even more fun!

...lots more to come!!

taking a break

still have lots and lots of editing to do

and lots of Christmas cards to create

and I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do for my cards/photos this year

but alas I am procrastinating at the moment... 

checking out a few blogs.... 

eating a really yummy and bad-for-me cookie that includes the following:

oreo cookie, peanut butter, marshmallow creme and chocolate

and I thought I would pop in and share some photos from a recent newborn/family session

hope you enjoy these as much as I am enjoying this cookie!

Some Scrapbook Shares

Just popping in to share some fun and exciting scrapbooking things I have come across lately!

1.  Becky Higgins Holiday Card Kit

I just got mine last night and I really have to say that I am in awe at this kit!! This kit is AMAZING! So full of cute cute stuff!! And I really can't believe how many cards are in here! I don't think I even know enough people to give them all out!! There are also a ton of little elements that would be so cool to use on scrapbook pages too! You can bet that some things from this kit will show up in my December Daily Album!! I know this kit will sell out fast so if you want one you better act fast!! Click here if you want to get it!

2.  Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking by Lain Ehmann

I met Lain at a CK Convention here in Arizona last year and then we had the chance to hang out for a bit again at the last one in Phoenix and I have to say that she just makes me smile! Her personality just oozes happiness and she is the type of person that just makes you feel good! I can't wait to read this book! 

3. Making Memories Love Notes Collection

This new line is releasing in December and I am lucky enough to already have some of it in my hands!! I just created a layout with it last week (that unfortunately I can't share yet but maybe I will make something else with it soon so you can see it in action!) I guess it would be appropriate to say that I LOVE this collection!! It is awesome! Some new things from MM in this line that I am excited about - the Metal Charms, the Looking Glass and the Tickets!! Very fun!!

Also check out the new Flower Patch line while you are there that will also release in December! This is super cute too!! You can't really tell from the images but the Butterfly Charms are actually made of metal that is cut into butterfly shapes and they are so cool! Can't wait to play around with those!!

4. Month by Month Scrapbooking by Amanda Probst

Another new book from Creating Keepsakes that I can't wait to see in person! I really love Amanda's style and approach to scrapbooking and I have heard that this book is full of great ideas and inspiration!! 

Well, now you have lots to drool over! :) Good thing Christmas is coming up right??

Oh, I have also had quite a few emails asking about the size of my December Daily Album and I'm not sure if I got back to everyone so I will just post it here. The front and back covers are 8x8. The inside pages are a mixture of 8x8, 4x8, 4x6, 6x6 and also just whatever random sizes of envelopes and papers I had that I wanted to include. 

I did make notes as to the sizes of photos I need to print on certain days where I want the photo to cover the entire back of a certain page. So for example on day 2 I need to print an 8x6 photo to cover the back of my page for day 1 and then on day 19 I need a 4x6 photo to cover the back of  the page for day 18. I guess I explain this so you can see that this doesn't have to be as sporadic as it sounds. For many of you sporadic works but I know there are others that have emailed me and said that they would be stressed about it all actually coming together and flowing. I am definitely the planning type also and as I created it I wanted to make sure that it will indeed come together and end up making sense as I envision it. So.... seems sporadic and random (and it definitely can be) but my approach is quite planned and I have all my little notes to refer to as I go! :)

I will share the album again after it is done and I will even try to share it as I go so you can see it coming together!

And, one last thing for my sweet friend Kelly Purkey. This won't make sense to most of you, but this girl is awesome so I want to support her and give her the shout out she deserves! Go Kelly!!

crowdSPRING, hire Kelly Purkey for your new Community Marketing Manager!

Eyes

As a photographer I am always looking to capture the eyes

the sparkle, the smile, the life.... 

it can all be found in the eyes. 

In fact I was photographing a boy the other day who was about 10 years old 

and I was waiting and waiting for the smile in his eyes. 

He was giving me the typical 7-10 year old boy smile that looks like 

"I don't know what you are doing with that big camera in my face 

and I really wish I was home playing xbox anyway 

and I feel silly smiling cause I don't really know how to smile without looking like I am trying way too hard and I end up making a face that is nothing close to my normal true and genuine smile 

and oh, did I mention that I would rather be home playing xbox??" 

So, I was trying to talk him through it and dad was being silly trying to get him to loosen up 

and then it finally clicked and so I started clicking and I wasn't even looking at his mouth but rather his eyes... and I could finally see his smile in his eyes and I said 

"there it is, I can see your smile in your eyes!" 

and I am sure he thought I was even kookier than before! 

But anyway, there is a point to the story...

this family... these kids...

they have the most amazing eyes

she has blue eyes

and his are brown

and the little one's are somewhere in between...

and they are all beautiful and sparkly and so full of life's beauty!! 

These were so fun to edit!!

December Daily Album

Here is my December Daily Album that I created based on the idea from Ali Edwards. She did one last year and I wanted to do it but didn't get around to it. So this year, I really wanted to get it done ahead of time. Now all I have to do is add journaling and photos each day in December until Christmas. I might also add in some other pages and embellishments based on how many photos I have for each day. I kept all of the supplies I used in a metal bin so I can easily grab from my same stash of supplies. 

I plan to use the backs of some of the pages as spots for photos that will be the same size as that page and cover the whole back of that paper. So, I made myself some notes based on sizes of photos I need to print for certain days. I think that will help me keep things straight as I go and also cover the backs of papers that I don't want to show! :) 

I don't have a complete supply list typed up but if you are wondering where something is from, just leave a comment or shoot me an email and I will let you know. A lot of the supplies are by Making Memories with some other things thrown in there. The transparencies are Hambly except for the clock which is Heidi Swapp. The front and back covers are D. Reeves but unfortunately I don't believe they are available anymore. (This makes me sad because that was my last one! :( )

Well, get ready for lots of pictures! Enjoy! And if you decide to create one I would love to see so please share!! Thanks again to Ali for the fun project idea!

                 

Photo Share

Sorry about the long break between posts....I am really trying to post more often, I promise I am! Things are crazy busy as was expected and I am just trying to keep up! I have a ton of photo shoots to share so I will try to post some new ones from the past weeks every day or every other day. Then as I get to editing the more recent ones I will also share from those. 

Anyway, lots of gorgeous and fun families and some newborns as well coming soon!! So, don't give up on me... keep checking back and I will try to keep posting through the craziness! :) 

Also, I have some scrapbook projects to share as well so check back for those soon too. I jumped on board with Ali Edward's December Daily Album project and created mine last week. I jumped right in and finished it all in one day and can't wait for December to get here so I can start adding the pictures and journaling. For now, check out Ali's blog for details on the whole process and idea (if you haven't already) and then I will photograph mine and share it soon!

This a family that I photographed a couple of weeks ago. I loved the colors of blue that they were wearing and I am still in awe over the little guy's eyes! They were so beautiful and sparkly and so fun to photograph!!

These last three images are some of my favorite from the session so I put them on a storyboard for them. I used my new Color Mix Actions on all of these photos (except for the black and white). For the last three I was playing around and I think I found a new favorite way of mixing the actions. First I ran the Urban Cool action and reduced the opacity on it a little bit. Then I flattened the image and then ran the antique action. I love how the antique action looks when you run it after running the urban cool.... so fun and gives such a different look than when you run either of those actions by themselves. If you have this set of actions, be sure to give it a try and tell me what you think! I hope you love it as much as I do!! 

And by the way, the little guy's eyes are really that gorgeous blue color!! All I did was run my Urban Cool action and I reduced the opacity down a little so it wasn't so strong. But other than that little color boost, I didn't touch his eyes!! Gorgeous huh??