I’d like all of this in my size…
($24.95), Zutano Fleece Hat
($12.50)
Bonus! Click here and use code HOLIDAYS through December 15th to save an extra 20% on MYHABIT!
Sorry for the silence!
Pre-Thanksgiving I was busy working and prepping for guests. I took the day off on Thanksgiving, then worked Friday and Sunday. Saturday Jax was sick with sneezes and a runny nose so I took care of him while I worked on our family portraits (more on that in a moment.) Of course because I was wiping a snotty toddler nose and getting sneezed on all night while I nursed him, I caught the cold too. So my Sunday of working was pretty bad, and today is 100x worse. I’m sooo sick! But, I’m a contractor and don’t get paid if I don’t work, so work I must! Luckily, thanks to all the nursing, Jax was all better after just 36 hours with a light cold.
the photo we chose for our wall
We’ve been owing our relatives family portraits for some time. We actually had none that included Jax and he is almost 2! $500 photographers just aren’t in our budget, and mall photo studios hold your pictures’ copyrights hostage, which I don’t like. So it was time for some DIY!
I’ve been reading an ebook about my camera for a little while now which is a big help. I spent a couple weeks searching Pinterest and Google for tips on poses, outfits, lighting and taking your own family portraits. I knew that I was going to have to get creative and do a lot of Photoshopping.
I planned to do 2 separate shoots: one of Jax and I and one of my husband and Jax. I included pictures of us adults on our own as well. The plan was to take them all in the same location then Photoshop us together into different combinations. I ended up having to take them on two different mornings, but the light was very close both days.
The results came out much better than I’d expected! The lighting in the playroom was perfect. The poses came together the best they could. Photographers recommend everyone we very close and in contact with each other, but that wasn’t really possible the way I was doing it. We still got some great pictures.
Some behind the scenes:
In order to make Jax smile, I set up our iPad just under the camera. During my photoshoot with him, I played a YouTube video of a laughing baby to get him to smile. During the second shoot, I put on his favorite show, Peppa Pig. When I was in the photos, I used a remote to trigger the shutter. I made sure to take the pictures at the same time each day and left the camera on the tripod in the same spot between shoots.
I set up a Photoshop file with a clean wall photo I’d taken during the shoot, then cut us out of all the best shots and worked on arraigning us together. I spent a lot of time making sure all the edges were clean and added shadows and highlights to make it all come together.
See above for my camera setup, a silly screenshot with two of me and an outtake.
The goal was a nice, large black & white photo for our living room wall, some photos to send off to relatives, and a picture for our holiday cards. Yesterday evening I got everything ordered from Shutterfly. I used a coupon code for 25 free 4×8″ photo cards from saving up baby wipe points to get our cards. I used the promo code SHIP30 for free shipping, so I just paid for the prints.
What do you think of our DIY photos?
Are you ready for Thanksgiving yet?
As mentioned in my Sunday Souvenir, our friends bought a packaged Thanksgiving meal they are dropping off here tomorrow. We are adding on the pre-meal snacks (dips, chips and veggies), a vegetable (I was surprised there was none. Or do they count the potatoes? We’re having lemon garlic green beans.), sweet potatoes (my husbands must-have!) and adding to the apple pie dessert with cheesecake brownies and pumpkin bars. The husband is making all of that, despite me being the normal baker. I’ll just be mixing up some cheese dip!
Jax's leaves became our centerpiece
Since there will be much football-watching that day, I plan to have some quiet book sewing ready to go. That way I can be on the couch with everyone but have stitching to do since I can’t pay attention to sports for more than 30 seconds. Even though Jax’s quiet book is HUGE already, I’ll still loving making and sharing the pages with you all! Please let me know if you have any requests.
Well, that was a long intro! Here are some links:
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
I grew up with just my dad and my brother who is 6 years my senior. My dad did his best to keep us healthy and fed, but his repertoire was limited. The fanciest he got was Easter when he’d cook this heart attack casserole from our recipe box that involved hard boiled eggs, spam and at least 10 types of dairy. He was best known for his meatballs (which were a big hit when he’d be the only dad at my girl scout potluck dinners) on spaghetti night. The rest of the week we rotated through classics such as Kraft Mac & Cheese, Hamburger Helper (gag), soft tacos and hamburger and rice. For a rocket scientist raising two kids on his own, he did a pretty kickass job.
So, Thanksgiving. Not his best meal… Hah. I don’t remember visiting relatives around that holiday, though we may have at some point. We all got together with my mom’s family for Christmas. Our Thanksgiving dinner involved a piece of “meat” I grew to dread. A turkey-like substance that probably had a hand in me becoming a vegetarian at age 16. What was so horrific? Turkey loaf, my friends. It was turkey loaf.
This man-made dish came in a tin like pound cake and was slimy with “gravy”. When you sliced off a hunk you could see a diagonal line separating where they mushed the “dark meat” and “light meat” into two halves. It held its shape perfectly, much like our canned cranberry goo. Turkey loaf was a thing of horror in my childhood. As we got older, I’m pretty sure it was a thing of ridicule as well, hehe.
Oh, Turkey Loaf… I love the family memories you are in, but I sure didn’t love you!
This year, as we have done for several years now, we are sharing a meal with our neighbors. They purchase a pre-prepared meal from the store that we just embellish. If they had this in the 80’s, our Thanksgivings could have been a whole lot tastier!
I don’t want to end on such an unappetizing thought as turkey loaf, so here is a photo of me in kindergarten. I rememeber that I was assigned to be a Native American in our little Thanksgiving assembly and I was super jealous of those who got to be pilgrims. It was only because I really hated wearing a paper grocery bag. But, I rocked that grocery bag – don’t you think?
I plan to design and sew a couple felt ornaments every week until Christmas. I’ll be sharing the patterns here for anyone who is interested!
Peace & LoveHere are my first two ornaments: Peace and Love. Some of the photos came out with the colors off, but the photo at the top is accurate.
The supplies you’ll need are:
Felt (in red, sky blue, aqua blue and green), embroidery floss (in red, aqua blue and green), red ribbon or ric-rac, batting/stuffing, needle, scissors, pins, water-soluble marker
Start by cutting out your pattern pieces, pinning them to the felt and cutting all the elements out.
To transfer the text, I pinned the pattern behind the felt and held it up to a light. I was then able to trace over the word with a marker. I sewed the word using a chain stitch with 4 strands of floss (I normally use 2 strands for everything else.)
Peace & Love Felt Ornaments
If you make your own, I’d love to see them! Send me a photo or link and I can add yours to this post.
Have you checked out MYHABIT? Members-only sale sites are all the rage, but if you are already an Amazon customer, you can shop at MYHABIT right away!
While they were already offering flash sales on clothes and shoes, MYHABIT is now carrying toys, baby items and home goods.
Here are some of the current deals:
These are all going fast, but there will be new sale events starting every day and typically running for 72 hours. And with free shipping and returns, it sounds like a god deal to me!
Have you used a members-only sale site before? What was your experience like?
I can’t believe it is already mid-November! I’ve been so focused on preparing for our vacation that I haven’t had time to think ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Last Christmas
Here are some things on my to-do list:
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Radio Flyer Scoot 'n Zoom for $7.50
Sometimes it seems like I get an idea in my head for Jax and decide to keep an eye out at the thrift store for what I’d need to accomplish it, only to find it on my very next visit! It happened with the play kitchen and now with a dollhouse.
A dollhouse for boys, you ask?? Why not! My crafty mom was huge into dollhouses and miniatures, making both from scratch. I may have a boy, but I think there are ways to incorporate a dollhouse into his imaginative play time.
We pulled up to the thrift store and I spotted this unfinished wood beauty from the window. I was sold when I saw the $9.25 price tag! This is a $80 Melissa & Doug wooden dollhouse
Jax keeps saying “House! House!” I really think this would look cute as a red and white barn with faux straw floors and wood beam walls inside. It’s in perfect condition, minus a red paint stain. What do you think?
I think I may hide this away and make it all special and barn-like to put under the Christmas tree for Jax. Maybe with this animal set
These Melissa & Doug Stacking Emergency Vehicles
We also got the scooter at the top of the post. He has had a Mickey Mouse car since his first birthday but it is SO LOUD it is driving me a little crazy. There is no volume switch! At the time we got it, all the buttons and lights were more interesting than the actual car to him. Now he is more interested in go, go, going! So this one is perfect both for Jax and mama’s poor ears. And it rolls great outside, which the other one didn’t.
I didn’t look at the books this time. We will be going through ours to see if there are any Jax has grown out of that we can to donate to the library soon.
Did you have a favorite tv show when you were little? Mine was The Muppet Show. Especially Kermit the Frog! I think I liked him the most because he sounded like my dad. (My dad also did a great Cookie Monster voice from Sesame Street.) It was such a great show with lots of little skits and musical numbers featuring a famous guest star. I ended up with a lot of Miss Piggy gear as a kid because that is what was marketed towards girls. She kind of annoyed me, though. Hah.
Years later in college, my dad used to tape the episodes they were rerunning and he’d give me the VCR tape every Friday night when I’d visit him. I even made a little mix cassette tape of my favorite songs, though I have no idea where that is now.
The first photo is me watching at 11 months old. My dad looks so 70’s cool in the background! And, if that rocks still exists somewhere, I WANT IT! The photo to the left is my brother and I watching tv together. I was 16 months so he was almost 7. The photo below is from my 6th birthday, which was celebrated at a ranch we used to visit with family in Colorado. The decorations definitely look like the work of my Great Aunt Berta. I’m not sure if they were brought out from Iowa by my grandparents and added to a cake, or if the whole cake made the trip. My Aunt Susan might know.
I haven’t introduced Jax to The Muppet Show yet. His current favorite show is Peppa Pig, which we record for him. Apparently it’s a show that is big in England.
What was your favorite childhood show?
Wearing a Miss Piggy shirt at a sulphur spring
At the Aquarium of the Pacific
We’re back from our California vacation. To read all about it, visit my personal blog. The trip went really great and Jax did awesome on the plane flights and having to eat in restaurants for most meals. (Thank goodness for the iPad!)
I’m now looking ahead to Thanksgiving. We are keeping up our new tradition of sharing a purchased meal with our friends and neighbors Ronalyn and her husband D. But this year we will be eating at our house. I guess that means I need to clean up the sewing madness that has taken over the dining room?
Here are some Thanksgiving inspired links for you:
When I decided to reach out to friends to help with Imagine Our Life while I am on vacation, I knew right away I wanted to ask Lyndall of Royal Milk Tea. We’ve been online friends for a while, despite her living on the opposite side of the globe. She has such a beautiful aesthetic and I just love her drawings, photos and personal style. Lyndall is expecting her first little one and has offered to share some of the handmade baby items that have recently caught her eye.
Hello! My name is Lyndall, and I live in Adelaide, South Australia. I’m a librarian, an artist, a daydreamer and a collector of pretty pictures. I blog over at http://royalmilktea.nu.
Vintage fabric bib, Knitted baby cocoon, Little Baby sweater, Shaped Rattles, Handmade ‘Bathing Beauty’ doll, Baby Fair Isle cardigan.
Thank you, Lyndall! Everyone go visit her right now! I mean it!
The theme for Sunday, November 13th with be favorite childhood tv shows. If you write a Sunday Souvenir post on this theme and would like to be linked up, add a button and link and leave a comment here.
Link to: http://wp.me/p1Cxwo-t1
