MAGGIE HOLMES Photography and Scrapbooking Blog

Vintage Button Basics

This month's challenge over at Papertrey Ink is to use their new Vintage Buttons on a project.

Yes, it is a scrapbook page.... even though there are no photos. Sometimes you just have words and no photos and that's ok! They said to use buttons, and yep, I used buttons... a lot of them in fact! I have seen this idea done before and have always wanted to do something like this... so this is my take on the button tree. I cut a trunk from the Bitty Dot Basics paper and then used my white poster paint pen to freehand the tree shape onto the cardstock. Then I grabbed a bunch of green buttons and started adhering them all over! It was pretty random - just placed them wherever they seemed to fit! The best way that I have found to adhere buttons is glue dots. There are quite a few brands out there and they all work great! I know that a lot of people like to hand stitch their buttons down but I just don't have the patience (or the time for that matter)! :)

Then I used some Papertrey stamps to create a place for my journaling to go. I used the "fresh snow" ink and embossed with white powder to make it pop more. I added the title and a hand drawn border around the edge and I finished it off with a few embellishments. Pretty simple actually! And it was a lot of fun!

As a sidenote: The idea came from the fact that my grandparents had a huge tree in the middle of their backyard. I remember running around out there for hours on end playing under that tree. Since I have been married, we have lived in new homes and we haven't stayed in any of them long enough to see the trees get very big... so I dream of someday having a big tree like this. 

The journaling reads: Someday... 

We will have a big shade tree to sit under with the kids. 

reading, laughing and being together! 

and I will be in Heaven!

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink Stamp Sets: Mega Mixed Messages, Background Basics: Retro, Beyond Basic Borders

Papertrey Ink Ink: Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate

Papertrey Ink Cardstock: Aqua Mist

Papertrey Ink Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics

Papertrey Ink Ribbon: Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Burst

Papertrey Ink: Vintage Buttons

Making Memories: Brads

Basic Grey: Chipboard Bird

American Crafts: Letter Stickers

Jenni Bowlin Designs: Butterfly

7gypsies: Flowers

Zig Writer: Pen

Sharpie: Poster Paint Pen

Fiskars: Border Punch

melts my heart...

I have so many faves from this session and will be sharing lots more but I had to stop and post this one really quickly! Thanks for being so patient Kelly! I know you are dying to see these! Trust me, it will be worth the wait! :)

If you are thinking about....

.... taking my next online photography workshop, check this out for the latest info! 

See you in class!! :)

Studio Calico

April kits are now available! Lot of fun stuff as usual!!

Here are the layouts I created this month and be sure to check out the design team gallery for many more inspiring projects! Wow, those girls amaze me every month!!

I played around with the Maya Mists this month and used the Heidi Swapp chipboard pieces (that are in the main kit) as stencils and masks. It was my first time using the mists and I have to say that I am addicted!! I love what you can do with them! And it is hard to see in the photos but they have the perfect amount of metallic sheen - so fun!

Let me know if you have any questions on the techniques! And hurry over to Studio Calico to get a kit before they are gone! They have been selling out in record time lately!

Version #2

How nice of this little bee to pose just perfectly for me... :)

I feel a lot like this busy little bee this week... 

only I wish that I could look at pretty flowers all day instead of dirty toilets and dirty dishes and dirty laundry.... 

except then I would only have other bees to cuddle with and no cute little happy munchkins (aka Tyler, Matthew, Nathan and Emily Jane) and that probably wouldn't be as fun.... 

and also, do bees get to sleep? cause I don't know if I could be a bee if they don't sleep?

ps: Brian didn't believe that I really took these pictures... How funny of him to think that.... as if I would steal them or something! But I guess he does have a valid point in wondering how I managed to find the time to shoot some pictures of a bee amidst all of the toilet, dish and laundry cleaning! 

Welcome Spring...

(Shot with my 50mm 1.8 at 1/3200, 1.8, ISO 100. I used my Urban Action from the Color MIX set at 100% opacity.)

Crashed Hard Drive

Those 3 words are ones that I never wanted to hear myself say.... but unfortunately it is true. It seems that it happens to us all at some point right? Luckily I have been using external hard drives for quite a long time now so all of my photos and client's photos are safe.....

But I have lost my entire email and some older photos... not fun!

Here is where I need your help - I had a lot filed and saved through my email - photography workshop wait list, mini session lists, etc.

So, unfortunately I have lost everyone that was on the wait list for my next photography workshop. If you emailed me before yesterday to get on the list, then I don't have you down. Please email me again to make sure that you are on the list. I would hate to miss someone so if you are unsure, just go ahead and email me.

Also, I will be doing a day of mini photography shoots in Utah the end of May and in California the beginning of May.... and I had some people down for those, but that info is lost as well. If you are interested in getting on the list for either of those, please email me again and I will put you on the list. I will announce the exact dates for both of those soon. 

Last thing - if you have emailed me lately with a question and I haven't replied to you yet, please feel free to email me again because I have lost all of my emails. I know I was quite behind and had a lot filed to reply to or even just to save for future reference.... so please email me again if you need something! 

Oh, one more thing - If you tested my photoshop elements actions on other versions than 7 or on a Mac, please email me again so I can get your feedback/notes. I know that there were just a few changes I needed to make for some of the versions but unfortunately those emails are gone too.... thanks for your help!

Ughhh, I feel lost without my email! I wish I had backed it up recently! :( Take this as a good reminder to back up your data!! Do it NOW!!

Label Tulip

I am the guest designer over at Label Tulip this month and the kits are now available for purchase!! They are right up my alley - bright and colorful and perfect for spring!! So fun!!

Here are the layouts I created with the main kit. You should also check out the design team gallery! Those are some super talented and creative gals!! And it is always so fun to see how each person can come up with such different layouts with the exact same supplies! Just shows you how much you can actually do with each kit! Thanks Label Tulip for asking me to guest design this month! It was a pleasure!!

The monthly challenge right now at LT is to use some of the packaging from the kit. It can be from any of the products, or even the bag that the kit comes in. I did it on two of my layouts.... can you guess which elements are packaging??

Online Workshop is Full

The online workshop is now full... actually it is full +10! I ended up with 10 more than my original cut-off... but it's all good! We have a big group which makes for lots of fun on the message board and lots of chances to share your work, ideas and inspiration with each other. Again, if you are in the class and haven't emailed me your info sheet, please do so asap! You will also be receiving an email from me with the message board info so watch for that!

For those of you that didn't get into the first one, I am going to be offering the workshop again with a starting date sometime in May! I already have a wait list going so if you want to be on the wait list, please email me! Those on the wait list will have a chance to register before I open it up to everyone! As soon as I officially set the dates I will email everyone on the list with the secret link to register before I announce it here. 

Thanks everyone... can't wait to get this party started!! :)

Here are a few photos I took recently of my sweet friend and fellow photographer, Megan. We went out one day to take some headshots of each other and basically just play around with our cameras! It was a lot of fun to get out there and try a new location and some new things! Most of these were shot wide open... something that I have always been a little afraid of, but I have to admit - I loved it!! Isn't she gorgeous!

Papertrey Ink Round 2

Papertrey Ink is releasing another fabulous line-up of stamp sets this month! 

And lucky me - I have been playing with them for the last couple of weeks!!

I'm loving the new set called "Life"... the images just feel refreshing to me and the quotes are so versatile! Love that! I stamped the branch/leaves onto a Jenni Bowlin die cut card with Raspberry Fizz ink and I created the two little butterflies with the butterfly stamp in the "Wishing You..." set. Then I stamped the quote above my picture with "fresh snow" ink and the dots toward the bottom of the page are also from the "Wishing You..." set. I can see myself using those dots over and over again!

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink Stamp Sets: Wishing You..., Life

Papertrey Ink Cardstock: New Leaf, Aqua Mist and Lemon Tart

Papertrey Ink Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics

Papertrey Ink: Vintage Buttons

Papertrey Ink Ink: Fresh Snow Raspberry Fizz

Papertrey Ink Ribbon: Hibiscus Burst Saddle Stitch

Making Memories: Patterned Paper (blue), Metal Photo Corner and Brads

Sassafras Lass: Patterned Paper (yellow)

American Crafts: Alphabet Sticker

Sharpie: Poster Paint Pen

Jenni Bowlin Designs: Die Cut Card

Provo Craft: Scallop Scissors

Another new set that is so versatile and fun to play around with is the "Guide Lines Two" set. You should definitely check out this post on the Papertrey Blog to see some more things you can do with it! I went with a more eclectic look and I used a variety of them without the grid lines. Then I used a white poster paint pen to draw some circles around them. I finished each little flower off with a brad in the center! Fun! I also used the "Background Basics: Retro" set that was released last month... can't get enough! The "little one" title is new for this month as well - part of the "Mega Mixed Messages" set. I love that they released these in a bigger size!

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink Stamp Sets: Guide Lines Two, Mega Mixed Messages, Background Basics: Retro

Papertrey Ink Ink: True Black, Raspberry Fizz

Papertrey Ink Cardstock: Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist

Papertrey Ink Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics

Papertrey Ink: Vintage Buttons

Papertrey Ink Ribbon: Hibiscus Burst

Studio Calico: Patterned Paper (yellow)

Heidi Swapp: Patterned Paper (pink/yellow)

Making Memories: Rhinestone Stickers, Brads

Provo Craft: Scallop Scissors

Zig Writer: Pen

And last, but not least, a bright little Mother's Day card. Hmmmm, I wonder who I will give this to? :) Pretty simple here - I used the "Wishing You..." set to stamp the tulip and the message and I embossed it with white embossing powder. Finished it off with some hand-drawn touches using my trusty and well-loved poster paint pen!

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink Stamp Set: Wishing You...

Papertrey Ink Ink: Fresh Snow

Papertrey Ink Patterned Paper: Bitty Dot Basics

Papertrey Ink: Vintage Buttons

Papertrey Ink Ribbon: Hibiscus Burst Saddle Stitch

Jenni Bowlin Designs: Butterflies

Sharpie: Poster Paint Pen

Provo Craft: Scallop Scissors

Remember to check out the Papertrey Ink Blog for more sneak peeks and lots of fun! They sure are a hoppin' (and sweet) group of gals over there! It's been so much fun to be the guest designer! Thanks Papertrey!

All of the new products shown here will be available for purchase tomorrow!!

Photography Workshop

My first online photography workshop running from March 23rd - May 2nd is almost full. There are just a couple of spots left, so if you are planning on registering, now is the time! Once it is full, I will start a waiting list. So if you don't get into this one, don't panic, you can get on the list for the next one! 

I had no idea that I would have this great of a response! Thank you everyone!! I am so excited to teach this class and to get to know everyone better on the board. I am still missing a lot of your question/answer forms so if you haven't turned that in, please get it into me soon! :) I am really enjoying reading your bios and getting to know each of you a little before we start. We have quite a diverse group! Get your minds and cameras ready because you are in for a lot of learning and a lot of fun too!

More of Baby B

Trying to deliver on my promise of "more to come soon" :)

I was so excited to use my new backdrop with this little guy! When I bought it I didn't even know it would match perfectly with my chair! So fun!

I think I only got a handful of him asleep and this is one of them... He just didn't want to sleep for us that day! He was still so good though... hardly cried at all!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Backlighting

I wanted to share some more from this session. 

She is just too cute for words... and the perfect little model. 

I am in LOVE with backlighting lately! I love the chance to play around and be creative when it comes to my photography.

Hope you all have a great Friday! Man, the weeks are flying by! Doing anything fun this weekend?

check it out...

I know I am a little late posting these because the gallery reveal was last friday but I had a super busy weekend and I have been trying to keep up with all of the emails and registrations that are coming in for my online photography workshop! So fun and exciting! I can't wait to get started!!

Here are my layouts that I created with the March Studio Calico Kits. This month's kits had to be my favorite kits I have ever seen! The colors were so fun and bright and every little thing was just too cute!! I am loving all of the yellow!!

I used the kit to create some Emily Jane layouts with photos that I have had printed and sitting in my drawer... some older and some newer. Love the chance to just play around with these kits and let them inspire me! So fun! And I am in love with all of the new Sassafras Lass stuff!! They featured a couple of my layouts on their blog here along with some other fun ones from the design team. Thanks Sassafras for creating such yummy products!!

You can check out the entire design team's gallery here including the projects created by this month's guest designer - Keisha Campbell. She has been a fave of mine for a long time and I even did a spotlight on her over at the SC blog here.

Also wanted to mention that I am guest designing this month here... more fun stuff in the works!!

Thanks for stopping by!! If you have emailed me recently with questions about my workshops or my actions (or anything else for that matter) and I haven't responded, please don't hesitate to send me another email. I try my very best to get to everyone but once in a while emails can get lost in the shuffle and it makes me sad to think that someone is waiting to hear back from me that I don't know about!