Texas living is the life for me

Blogging from Burnet

underneath a canopy of trees,

beside dancing lake water,

surrounded by rolling hills,

listening to giggling babes.

Behold, beauty.

At Home: Create with me

In case you haven't checked in this week (for shame) you may be noticing that I've changed the look of my blog.  I'm one for change even though I may tell you that I hate change.  I'd be more accurate if I told you that I hated the transition, but I DO like change.

I've reconfigured the categories over there ------------->>>>>>
you see?

I'll be adding a few more categories in the coming weeks under the 'At Home' section.  I've got a few guest bloggers lined up that will be blogging about things that behoove you and not necessarily recipes.  I needed to tidy up the blog and remove some old categories and add some new ones.  IF, IF, IF  you find my new system over there ----------->>>>>>>>>>>>  too fancy or hard to navigate then please let me know so I can make it user friendly.

We loaded up and went to Mimi's a few days ago to borrow her closet, turned craft room.  Isn't this neat?  I'd like to have one installed in my own home for unruly children and reinforced with a dead bolt. Oh, I kid.

While there, I worked on a little project:

It's so flippin cute that I would really like to add bows and ruffles to the rear-side of my Hanes.  But, I run the risk of turning cute into horrendous so I'll refrain from embellishing my own under-britches and stick to embellishing Natalie's shirts.  Deal?  Or no deal?

I first saw this t-shirt idea on the Family Fun website.  If you've never been on their site and you have small children, you should bookmark it and check it often.  I loved it when I was a teacher and I love it as a momma.

I bought these fat-quarter fabrics at an awesome fabric shop in Old Town Spring a while back and I loved the patterns and colors.  I was going to use them for a different project, but never got around to it so I decided to use them for this.

My theory for mixing and matching is choosing patterns that all have complimentary colors despite the pattern and throwing one that belongs on a totally different color pallette for quirk.  See the green on the far right?  It doesn't really match, but it's green and it works.

To start, you'll need a 1 inch by 12 inch strip of each fabric.  I'm giving measurements for those of you that must have numbers, but I didn't measure.

Next you'll need a plain tee.  Using a marker, make two parallel rows of dots.  One set for each strip.  Just see below because I know I'm not making myself clear.

You can see that I used a ruler to space them apart evenly and this is the result...

Using pointy, sharp scissors, cut a teeny slit on each dot.

Next you'll push a fabric strip across each set of slits like so

Tie each strip in a bow and do the same for the rest of the fabric strips

I added the ruffle at the bottom to balance the shirt a bit, but you don't really have to if you don't want to use a sewing machine.

All done!  Here's the shirt again.

Brock & Liam: A Kid shoot

So, these little guys are now 2, but if you ask their momma they will always be her babies

.

We met up at the park with scooters ready to go and I must say that I have the most sylish of clientele.  I've said it before.  I'm not into "props."  BUT, I hardly consider the things that my clients have been bringing into our shoots props.  How do you guys know just what to do?  I love these red scooters and I love the plaid shorts sitting atop.

Brock and Liam are twins, but their personalities are very unique.  They each possess different qualities that make them unique, but endearing in their own way. 

Liam is the serious one.

But, when you succeed in making him smile you have really scored big in his book.  He's not frivolous in his affection so just one smile from him sends my heart racing.

Brock is the smilier of the two.

And he'll win you over in a New York minute with his jovial personality.

Feet shots are cute, but twin feet shots are exponentially cute.

Speaking of exponentially cute....

How you like them ham bones?

The Jacksons: A family shoot...Americana style

I've always loved Ralph Lauren ads with their East Hamptons, Americana flair so I was blown away by Julie's set up.  It's the perfect 4th of July vignette without being over the top. 

This is my first time to go to the Jackson house for pictures and I've driven past it 4,409 times, but the view from the road does not do it justice.  The home is a 1915 home that was relocated from The Heights district.  I got a tour and Julie has posted a few pics on her own blog, but I still don't think the pictures do the house justice.

I liked this next shot with the blown (over-exposed) sky because it reminded me of those Ralph Lauren ads or the Abercrombie ads.   So, here the over-exposure worked.

But, Cash wasn't so thrilled about the whole photo shoot idea.

So, I had to be quick with the button and ready to capture him when he found me the slightest bit entertaining.  It was worth the extra sweat.

And Taylor is a breeze to shoot with her soft, unassuming smile.

Here's one from Julie's cozy porch.

And a slice of life I couldn't resist

Happy Fourth of July, dear Blog Friends.

Jillian Lee: A Bridal Shoot

The wedding has come and gone so it's officially 'safe' to post a few bridal shots.

 

Need a good photo lab?

I was in a pinch yesterday and needed some enlargements fast.  I called Steve at Kingwood Photo Lab and he was more than willing to help me out.  He printed out several enlargements for me and had them ready the same day.  I was so pleased with the excellent customer service I received there and I can't say enough good things about them.   If you need quality prints and fast this is an excellent place to get them.  He is located on W. Lake Houston Parkway in the little shopping center right next to the Alspaugh's Ace Hardware.

Kingwood Photo Lab
2714 West Lake Houston Pkway suite 170

They have a really neat website, too, if you'd rather submit your prints that way and pick them up later.

www.kingwoodphotolab.com

Thanks, Steve, for the excellent service!

The Doskocil and Parker Ladies: A Family Shoot

You'd never know how hot and uncomfortable it was by the looks of these beautiful girls.

Now, the Doskocil Ladies I have photographed a few times and they are still beautiful, still fashionable, and still lovely.  Little Ava, however, was a much more willing participant this go 'round.  She was all smiles and very willing to give me a few minutes of her morning. 

Sister Amanda is a dream daughter.  I wish I could video tape her and show you just how personable she is.  She is a little lady in every respect.  She talks like a little grown up and works the camera like no one's business.  She's polite, respectful, and such a little helper.  I think I'll keep her for myself.  She'd fit right in with my brown eyed, brown-haired brood.

And what may strike you first about Angie is her beauty, but let me assure you that her kind demeanor and smarts are formidable contenders.

  
But this time, I got to meet Aunt Christina and the much-talked about Cousin Audrey who could easily be the third Doskocil daughter.  She is squishy and coo-ey and made me question my decision of not having a third child (until I took my 2 children to WalMart today and sweated worse than I did at aerobics class).  Though my desire to procreate one more time has swiftly left me, I still think she's dang cute.  Christina, it was a pleasure meeting you and your sweet girl.

 

I've never owned a pair of boots, but I could seriously use a pair like Angie's.  I love those and I've never LOVED a pair of western boots.

I really love doing what I do.  It just makes me happy.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

My mother is the original artisan in my family.  I suppose it was her 23 chromosomes that forged the innate desire in my own persona to create.  My dad is a pretty creative and smart dude, but creative and smart about dude things like buildings (award-winning buildings). 

As long as I can remember my mother has created with her hands.  So, I can't apologize if at times I seem overzealous.  Perhaps, my desire to dabble in all things from photography to yo yo quilts has at times annoyed you.  Did you want to throw up when I posted pics of my Halloween decor?  I can't help it.  It's in my genes.  It's her fault. 

She's always dabbled in floral artistry, but has recently taken on clients interested in her high-end floral art.  I went with her to a client's home recently to take pictures of her work for her portfolio and I had to share some of her work with you because I'm so very proud of her and glad to have been formulated in her creativity-infused body.

my very favorite