Spring Decor - Part II

click on any image to enlarge

Built-in shelves flank our fireplace since this house was built. We've lived in this house for 13 years and many of those years these shelves have been one hot mess! Only recently have I been enlightened by my good friend, Amanda, that you don't just pile up all your crap up there and call it a day. Who knew?I always knew I liked how other people arranged their schtuff, but had no idea of the thought process which went into it. So, I scoured catalogs and the internet in search of some guidelines. These are some pointers I took note of.

OBJECTS
Keep "heavy" objects on the lower shelves. (Heavy can be weight or bulkiness.)

Like items make more of an impression when grouped together. (Especially if they're small.)

Use "greens" as a place for your eye to rest. (My greens are dried or fake.)

Vary textures, shapes and colors to keep the eye moving from top to bottom.
For a more subtle effect, vary the textures and shapes, but keep everything in the same color.

Use items which have special meaning to you. (This Pressman camera was given to me by my father-in-law and is a real treasure to me.)

SPACING
Place objects on shelves in layers. (I'm a major offender of this "rule" - I used to line up my items like soldiers in one row.)

Leave some open space on each shelf. (About 10%)

BOOKS
Sort books by color rather than subject. (This works well if you don't have a ton of books.)

Stand books vertically and stack horizontally. Large books make a great stand to elevate a piece. (plates, pictures, etc.)Exclude paperbacks and remove dust jackets from hardcovers.

I don't know that I've followed all the "rules', but I do know my shelves look a whole lot better. Before, I had a ton of framed pictures on my shelves and now the pictures I've selected have special meaning and can get the proper attention they deserve.

What rules do you follow or break when decorating your shelves?
Thanks for visiting and Happy Easter, friends!

Spring Decor - Part I

Finally! I'm hoping to successfully link up to Mary's Monday Mosaic tonight. She hosts this at her blog Little Red House. I have long admired the creative and fabulous bloggers who participate in Mary's weekly feature. Be sure to check them out here.I've included a few more shots of our mantel. I've fussed and fussed with this and I've decided to let it go. You see, I try to maintain a symmetry on our mantel and this time it just didn't work out. See how my apothecary jars are not the same size? I also wanted to paint some larger eggs to put in the hurricane on the left. It didn't happen. So I put off this post long enough and said "the heck with it". The bunnies are made from vintage handkerchiefs and they remain my favorite Easter decorations.What took the longest was the shelves to the left and right of the fireplace. I completely cleared them off. (Even dusted them!) I looked all over the internet at professional designer sites, bloggers' home photos and retailers for some inspiration and guidance. There was a ton of great stuff to look through! And of course all that research takes time...so my next post I'll share some pointers from those who really know how to decorate.Thanks for stopping by and if you're coming via Mary's Mosaic Monday, I hope you'll come back!

Happy Gotcha Day!

A celebration of our son, who began our family life back in 2002.

Picked for us by God and the angels at Cradle of Hope.

An adorable chunk of love who was instantly a Daddy's boy.

Not yet walking, but always busy.

So eager to be fed, he'd kick his feet, wave his arms
and hold his mouth open like a baby bird.

The son we'd always dreamed of and are blessed to call our own...


Happy Gotcha Day, Jackie-baby!
We love you!

P.S. If you are or know of someone considering adoption, but they want to speak to someone who has been through the process, please feel free to give them my e-mail.

Bedroom Board & Batten or WOO-HOO!

BEFORE

Maybe the title should be "What Was I Thinking?!" I remember being impressed with myself when I matched up a border with a wallpaper from another manufacturer. That was 12 or so years ago.
And cherubs! If you know me, then this might be shocking. In my defense, we were just married. I dunno. I should just let it go and show you the "After".You can find a tutorial here. There are a lot of things I am able to do myself, but power tools simply are not "my thing".Before this treatment, I was thinking I needed to paint our bedroom furniture. Now I see the previous "dirty khaki" paint color was a terrible match for our wood. Now I think it pops nicely against the white. The paint color above is now "Bird's Nest" SR211 by Valspar. Here is another blogger who had the same treatment done in her bedroom. I opted for the bedroom because ours lacks any architectural interest and I wouldn't have to worry about the kiddos knocking into the woodwork.

Thanks for visiting, friends!

Something Different

Sorry for my lengthy absence from posting here...I start feeling really bad when my good friend, Bethany has managed three posts for March, by March 4th and she has four children! I haven't posted since February. Oh fudge.

I have been productive though! I spent a good bit of time moving furniture in preparation for...having painting done and having a board & batten treatment done to our bedroom. So of course, I also spent two days removing wallpaper. (If I ever speak of having wallpaper put up in our home, somebody please promise me you will walk, run, drive or fly to my house, ring my doorbell and smack me upside my head.) I will take you to lunch or dinner and thank you profusely when I come to my senses. Jeez. What was I thinking? Obviously, I had never had to remove wallpaper before I'd gone through my wallpaper phase! Anyway, I will be sure to post some before and after shots when the work is done - which is soon.

In the meantime, I leave you with this:
Camillas from our back yard.
Photograph enhanced with photoshop and textures. Very fun to do!
(Much more fun than removing wallpaper!) What isn't?
Happy Friday, friends!

Sweet Pea, Cassidy

I had the honor of taking Cassidy's two-year-old portrait recently. I have to admit I was a little nervous at the thought of photographing a toddler who has been described as a bit of a diva. Like my wise friend, Bethany, once said "we want our daughters to be strong and opinionated - just not with us. Yep. You got that right, B!Anyway, Miss Cassidy loved seeing herself in my camera after I gushed about how adorable she looked. So she was very agreeable to taking more shots. Even when she wasn't agreeable to a pose, she was sugary sweet with her rejection of the idea. A soft "naaahh" was all she would say. I can take that all day long! No fits, no tears, just a pure delight to photograph.Do you love my background? It's a shower curtain from HomeGoods! I do have a portable stand I use, but that's where the professional look ended. I forgot to buy some heavy-duty clamps from Home Depot, so I had to use duct tape. Classy, huh?Thank you Marty for the honor of taking Cassidy's portrait! And a big thanks to your little girl for taking it easy on me. Thanks to Amanda for recommending me, too!I'm always striving to learn from every session, so if you have any suggestions, comments or even questions, I'm game! Thanks for stopping by.

Homework

My online photography class is over and I miss it. I loved getting a lesson each week with clear and concise ideas, photos illustrating the teacher's point perfectly and then finally the assignment. I learned so much and would highly recommend Maggie Holmes' online courses.
However, the in-house models I was using tired quickly of helping me with my homework assignments.

Example A:Ella is so sick of this...

Example B:

She couldn't get the dog in the shot, so now she's sick of it, too.

To the rescue - my good friend, Heather. She generously agreed to volunteer her time and be my "lighting" homework assignment model.Did I luck out or what?
It was a great learning experience for me. Plus it helps having someone incapable of taking a bad picture as your model.Out of the whole session, I think there were maybe four shots I didn't edit.An example of how back-lighting, if properly exposed can produce stunning results.
(I was taught from the beginning to never have the light behind your subject.) Who knew?

Heather and her fabulous hair - holy cow!A huge thank you to Heather for her help, patience and feedback! I can not even tell you how fun this was for me.
This experience also made me think about how often we (moms, women, the family photographer) are not in the shot. So even if you don't go and have a whole session of photos taken, make sure you get in some shots as well.

And so you know I follow my own advice:portrait by our son, Jack

Get into the picture, friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

From me and my little sweeties!

Quick, Cheap and Easy...

Decorations! Don't be sassy with me...my son and I barely survived his first book report last week and now I'm waiting for the AT & ! guy who was supposed to be here between 9 and 11. It's now noon. Do you think God is trying to tell me something?! Be patient, child!

I have no problem with Valentine's Day. I just don't want my house to look like Cupid came in and threw up everywhere. Nice image, huh? However, our kids do love when I change things up a bit. So in keeping with my "streamline" approach, I share with you my felt circle garland and tissue paper hearts.

Here is the mantel for February:
Close up of garland.Very easy to make! Buy the adhesive backed felt and you don't even need to mess with glue. I used ribbon spools to trace my circles. Use 4 circles if you want the dimension like mine. Peel off backing, fold circle (good side to good side) and match up another folded circle, stick halves together, stick your third circle on there, place your twine or ribbon down the center and then place your fourth circle, matching up the edges. Did that make sense?Next project is excellent with the kiddos! I used the cardboard from our empty cereal boxes, drew different sizes of hearts and cut them out. I didn't paint mine, but thought about it and said who gives a rip if you see some cardboard? Besides, the kids made more of an effort to cover the entire shape rather than have cardboard showing. Punch a hole to hang your heart from.I love this project because you can use that tissue paper that's all wrinkled up or has a rip...what !? you don't save crumpled up tissue paper?!!? Okay then, go to the dollar store! I cut my tissue paper into 2"x2" squares - no measuring, just approximate. Ball up tissue and glue on randomly or make patterns.
Get some colorful curling ribbon at the Dollar Store or use whatever you've got stashed away. You can repeat this project for any seasonal decorating - just cut different shapes. When you're done you can hang them, prop them against pictures of loved ones or share them!Happy crafting!

Valentine Photo Possibilities

As I began writing this, I realized a few of the photos I wanted to use are not digital. Drat! So we will have to make due with what I've got...you'll forgive me won't you? Anyway, I get so many compliments whenever I take Valentine themed photos and send them to loved ones far away. Why shouldn't you, too?

These are from 2008: Doesn't Ella look like she's givin' me the ole stink-eye? I think she's Amish and thinks I'm stealing her soul whenever I take her picture. These two I have framed and on the mantel: Want to duplicate this? Set up your shot before adding the poochie into the equation. Have your child's face filling most of the frame and the focus locked in. Take a delicious spreadable food (i.e. peanut butter, cream cheese, etc.) and place a small amount on your child's cheek. Call over the pup and snap away! I guess I should suggest only doing this with an animal you trust completely. Oh, and know whatever food item you use doesn't cause an allergic reaction in anyone.

If you don't have a pooch or if you want some other fabulous Valentine photo ideas, head over here to see the winners of her Valentine themed photo contest.
Happy snapping!