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    • Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays! New Uses from Real Simple

    April 29, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Oh how I adore Real Simple. It is one of my absolute favorite publications and is accompanied by an equally impressive website! If I am ever in between issues and looking for some home makeover inspiration, or maybe a delicious recipe for Friday night, or even a few new fashion trends, Real Simple is my first stop. But aside from the previously mentioned topics, my favorite Real Simple find has to be New Uses For Old Things. They have one for almost anything and everything! So this week, with the beautiful arrival of spring in mind, I have featured a few gardening inspired new uses. Who knows…you may have all of the gardening necessities you need just lying around the house :)

    From Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

    1) Use a coffee filter to line a pot before potting to ensure soil does not leak out through drainage holes that may be too large.

    2) If planning to leave town for a few days, water your plants by filling a sink or basin with a few inches of water and placing a towel underneath your plant to aid with absorption.

    3) Use old vases to make a container garden for herbs and small plants. Make sure to fill the bottom with small rocks or pebbles to help drainage.

    4) Poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of a yogurt cup and start growing seeds there before transplanting them to larger pots or garden beds.

    5) Tired of getting dirt under your fingernails while gardening? Quick remedy: scrape your fingernails along a bar of soap beforehand to keep dirt out.

    6) Supplement potting mix by filling the bottom of a planter with leftover packing peanuts. They are lightweight and improve drainage, which promotes healthy roots.

    Find several other great ideas for new uses here! Happy Friday everyone!

    AndreaHalseyAndreaHalsey

    Spring and Easter Sessions

    April 26, 2011 | Posted by AndreaHalsey

    I had an absolutely fantastic experience photographing clients in the Triad area of North Carolina for Spring and Easter. In our part of the US we are blessed with beautiful landscapes, surrounded by vibrant trees, and a little farm is not too far outside of town to make a natural backdrop for our photo shoots. For these mini sessions we celebrated birth and new life with little baby chicks that were beloved by all kids.

    Meghan BoyerMeghan Boyer

    Session Share: Blue

    April 26, 2011 | Posted by Meghan Boyer

    Inspiration: The inspiration for this session was fairly simple: a first birthday! The first birthday is incredibly special. It’s such a milestone and to think of how much changes in that first year of life is truly amazing. I wanted to capture the birthday girl exactly as she is at this moment in time. Adventurous, curious, playful, innocent, sweet and unbelievably gorgeous. I happened to get very lucky to have such a stunning little girl to photograph, not to mention the fact that she was so good the entire session!

    Favorite Element: At the very end of the session, once the birthday girl had finished her cake, she just crawled right through it and kept going. It was hysterical! Mom, Dad, and I couldn’t stop laughing! It was almost difficult to stay still enough to take the photos because I was giggling so much!

    Biggest Challenge:   My biggest challenge here was getting smiles. It’s pretty standard and I usually make faces and do my best to get the giggle. She was so curious and unsure of me and what the heck I was doing there that she just looked at me with those eyes and tried so hard to figure out what I was doing. She got more comfortable as time went by and of course by the time the cake came out, the focus changed for sure!

    What the Client Said: “Thank you for taking such amazing pictures!”

    Photographers’ Final Words: This was hands down my favorite birthday sessions to date. It is definitely a treat to be able to capture this time for her parents who I have known for many years.

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Fridays: Easter Crafts!

    April 22, 2011 | Posted by Kristen the designer

    Who doesn’t love dying Easter eggs? It’s such a fun, family friendly past time that just about everyone and any one can enjoy. I have been dying eggs every year since I was little, and it usually involves about a dozen eggs and a kit from the store. This year I wanted to do something fun and new! Of course the wonderful Martha Stewart had a wealth of amazing ideas and helpful tips to really make your Easter crafting the best it can be! Check out a few favorites below!

    CRAFTS

    Clockwise from top left: Cracked Paper Eggshell Dishes, Doily Baskets, Striped Crepe Paper Eggs, Eggshell votives. I absolutely love the eggshell votive idea…how clever and very festive! And you only need a few supplies like candle wax, candle wicks and eggs! Super easy and super fun :)

    EGG DECORATING

    Clockwise from top left: Glitter Eggs, Lace Eggs, Gilded Eggs, and Tissue Paper Eggs. The Bottom left is definitely my favorite! You cut out several shapes in different colors of tissue paper and then adhere them to the egg using an adhesive like Mog Podge. So pretty :)

    Hopefully a few of the above ideas can help you spice up egg dying this year! Wishing everyone a very happy Easter…and happy Friday!

    Nicola ToonNicola Toon

    There’s No Place Like Home

    April 21, 2011 | Posted by Nicola Toon

    I don’t know about you, but when I dive into that old floral photo album with the nice self adhesive pages that my Mom keeps I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  And funnily enough it’s not the perfectly posed photos that I stop to look at, I breeze by those.  The ones that grab me…the ones that I pour over are the shots that capture all of the little details.  I love dissecting those old photos that capture my surroundings in hopes that I will see something I haven’t noticed before.  What kind of toys did I have?  What were we watching on TV at the time?  Which books were on my shelf?

    The fact of the matter is photographs taken at home tell a story.  They take us back to a moment in time that we might otherwise have forgotten and immortalize them in print so that they can be enjoyed for many years to come.

    When booking a professional photo session for your family you likely think about location.  Would an urban shoot in the city suit you best, or would you prefer to be in a beautiful park or a gorgeous field of wildflowers.  While all of those locations can be amazing – I often gently urge my clients to consider the one location that suits them better than anywhere.  Home.

    Lifestyle photography can be one of the most beautiful art forms because it takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary.  People often fail to see the beauty and simplicity of life at home – that’s where your photographer comes in!  When you invite a professional photographer into your home they see your space with a new set of eyes.  They might find a perfect pocket of light in your bathroom or discover a fantastic vantage point in your child’s nursery which can give you a whole new perspective on the space.  Essentially they are able to find the style in your every day and clients are often amazed with the final results.

    Here’s just a few reasons that you might want to consider a Lifestyle shoot for your next photo session

    1) Children, especially young ones, are much more relaxed in their own environments.  They are likely to engage the photographer and be much more “natural” in front of the camera, which results in an image that captures exactly who they are.

    2) Your home offers the perfect sentimental backdrop for your session.  What better place to take a photo of your child than jumping on their bed, curled up in a cozy chair with their favorite book or having a tea party with their dollies.

    3) The weather is never a factor when you’re shooting in your family room.

      So if you find that you’re stuck for a the perfect location for your next photo shoot just remember – sometimes the best location is right under your nose.


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