Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #80

It's time for another wonderful sketch from Little Shop of Sketches!

Here's Sketch #80:Here's my take on it:
Be sure to head on over to the blog and see the other wonderful layouts from the girls :)

I hope you like it!

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Conversations between brothers and sisters

I don't know what prompted me to write this down, but I came across a little note I had written almost two years ago. It was an overheard interaction between Justin and Samantha:

Justin (by accident) steps on Samantha's foot.
Samantha: "OW!"
Justin: "Sorry."
Samantha: "You hurt me."
Justin: "You can still walk."

And I'm sure that then, like now, I just shook my head and said, "Wow. That's your Dad talking."

I'm so glad that I came across that little piece of paper. It was so much fun re-living the memory
and I created this layout about it using pictures from that time period.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Wedding Photographer

I am now a professional photographer! Well, I got paid for doing one event ... I guess that counts :)


After doing a special photoshoot and gift album for my uncle and aunt, they recommended me to a friend who was getting married. They were keeping costs down and were looking for anyone with decent camera skills ... that means I qualified!

I was very thankful for the opportunity and it was an amazing experience. I love meeting these wonderful people with an amazing story. I loved having a peek into their lives and sharing this special moment with them.

It was a very rewarding experience.

I don't have a ridiculously fancy camera. I only have two lenses. I don't have a tripod. I don't have a fancy flash ... but I am happy with how the photos turned out and it's really nice to have this under my belt. Now I will do an even better job next time!

I will say ... I think I seriously under-valued my work. That's another lesson ... everything takes longer than you think - and you are worth the money! There was the meetings ahead of time to discuss what they wanted. There was the rehearsal (3 hours) the day of the wedding (7 hours), the time spent going through the 1,600 photos and sorting (2 hours). And for the 385 photos I narrowed it down to, a full color correction and cropping ... 1 - 10 minutes each ... with about 10 getting some really important attention. The church they were married them has a ton of history and is very important to them. I edited some really great shots of the outside and spent a lot of time removing telephone wires and adding blue skies. I did it for three different angles. It took a couple hours, but the results are fabulous!


And ... I absolutely love this shot:

Their grandaughter was sooooo adorable!

It's official! You can give me your money anytime :)

*~*~*

Awakening

I absolutely LOVE this layout I did for A+Designs. The new kit, Awakening, came out recently and here is my contribution to the CT:

It's Andrew and I on Mother's Day 2010. I just love this photo and I love the fact that I was able to create something extra special for it. Look at that face :) It's just so him! I couldn't think of a title that would capture the moment ... and then I realized that I didn't need it. The moment spoke for itself and a large title would have detracted from the photo.

I used Awakening by A+Designs.

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Little Shop of Sketches - Sketch #79

Yay! Our January break is over and Little Shop of Sketches is back!!!

Here's the first sketch of 2011 - Sketch #79:

And here's my take on it:

Once again, the girls of LSOS have created some pretty awesome and inspiring layouts. Head on over to the blog to check them out!

And ... some pretty cool news! Little Shop now has a social network site! http://littleshopofsketches.ning.com/ You can upload layouts, chat in the forum, make friends, have fun and more! I'm there - come and be my friend :)

I hope you like it!

*~*~*

Snow Days

The start of a very snowy winter began the day after Christmas. A few days later we had another storm ... and then another ... and then another. There were record levels of snow for the month of January in our area of Northeast USA ... lots of fun, but also rather challenging. I love the look of fresh snow and having five feet of it is really impressive ... but leaking roofs and 11 foot high piles of snow at road corners ... Hubbie Dearest is praying for warm, snow-melting weather. He's spent too many hours on a ladder and with a snow-shovel :)

Here are the kids building a snowman before the snow got too deep. It was a fun way to ring in the New Year!



I designed the pages as a double page layout, so here's what they look like together:


I used Danielle Young's Winter Mix kit. It's perfect for those snowy (or rainy) layouts.

I hope you like it!