Cure for winter blues

Chocolate. Its like the cure for everything. I snagged this recipe from Lovely and Little blog and modified it for what I had on hand. 

1 cup milk 
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons Almond Joy Coffee Creamer

Marshmallows or whipped cream
Heat up milk on the stove or in the microwave, add cocoa, sugar, creamer.

Busy Bee: DIY "cool" Denim

Please note this ain't your typical school teacher denim we're talkin about today. If you like apples and busses and alphabets on your denim, this might not be the post for you.

(No offense mother in law - you rock those things - kids love it!)

I've been wanting a light colored "hipster" version of a chambray/denim shirt. Target had a really cute one, but I couldn't justify the $25 (I recall) they wanted for it. It was similar to this....

My hopes of wearing outfits like this....

While wandering through the thrift stores this weekend with my sis, I came across a giant section of denim button ups. I remember seeing a DIY ombre project for denim on Pinterest, so I grabbed one that looked to have some potential.

By potential I mean that it had some pretty cool details on it. I like the v-neck collar and the stitched seaming. I realized when I got home that it was even cooler, because its also got the little button up sleeve roll fabric flappy thing - (legit terms here people).

I literally just dumped bleach in a big bucket, submerged the shirt and ensured that all parts were saturated in bleach water mixture. I used about equal parts water and bleach. I also suggest doing this outside if you can - bleach stanks!

I let the shirt sit for 5 minutes, then flipped it around, just to make sure again that all parts of the shirt were covered in bleach water. Time lapse - another 5 minutes.

I rinsed the bleached shirt and washed it ALONE, with an extra rinse cycle.

And dryed it ALONE. I had to be sure I didn't ruin any of Mr. B's dress shirts...

I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED with the outcome!

And the side by side:

Denim/chambray, red and leopard love.

Busy Bee: Saturday Banner Project

Saturdays are starting to become my project day. Mostly because I am not home during the week with enough day light to photograph them... isn't that sad? I think it is. Stupid day job (::sigh::)

We've been sprucing up our bedroom and this banner project inspired me to do one of my own.

(thanks again Pinterest)

 

So here's the step by step. Its a really quick project and a good one for days when you're stuck inside. Isn't it cute? I love how it turned out.

I started with this old burlap bag. You could use any fabric, but this really goes with the rustic/"beachy" theme we have. I really hate using the word beachy, because its not like typical corny beachy. At least I don't think so. The burlap bag was from a shipment of green coffee beans Mr. B ordered. Pretty cool I think - and I didn't have to spend the extra $$$ on a supply I didnt' have. I just cut out the parts that weren't stamped with spanish I didn't know. (ha!)

I cut out a template for the individual penants. I did a similar project for a Halloween 'Trick or Treat' banner, so I had a good idea of the size I wanted. The top was 6 inches across. In the middle (at 3 inches) I drew a straight line down that was 7 inches and then continued to make a triangle from those points.

 

I cut out the template and traced it onto my fabric. I put them every other upside down to save space.

 

I used a generic stencil I got at Hobby Lobby. I liked the more simple straight lines of it, rather than some of the fancier options, but use what you like and what fits with the rest of the decor you'll be using it for. Seen here a mini can of white semi matte spray paint as well.

 

Here is my first letter taped and secured, so that I only get paint in the open letter 'R' area.

And here's what it looked like after a couple sprays of paint - fail.

Some times projects don't go as planned, but if at first you don't succeed, try, try again - and so I headed to the basement to see what other options I had for white paint. I was looking for a white sharpie or a marker pen, but I came across something better. Acrylic paint and a brush. DUH.

This worked MUCH better.

I strung the penants together with hemp. Since burlap isn't solid it was easy to weave it through.

I love it!

My photo New Year Resolution

One of my New Year's resolutions is to print and display more photos. As a part time photographer its pretty lame the amount of photos that display our walls. Elsie at "A Beautiful Mess" blog did a post on 5 ways she displays images in her home. I freaking love her blog and she has the cutest DIY ideas and projects. I tried one of the apps she suggested for printing Instagram and iphone images and it is AMAZING! Even as a photographer, the only camera I always have on me is my iphone. If you're lucky enough to have the new iphone 4S, you're likely getting pretty sick images with your phone, so I say embrace it and snap away! No need to have anything fancy. This app is super easy, afordable and did I mention easy and CUTE! Its called Postpix. You can choose a variety of sizes, but my personal fav is the 4x4 which is perfect for those fun and funky Instagram images. I swear in under 10 minutes (and without leaving the couch) I had ordered 25 of my favorite phone pics and they were shipped to my house within a week. I hung a few here at home in the hive and took a lot of them to work. I made a cute little "photo clothes line" with some metallicy embroidery floss (Hobby Lobby for like .99c) and teeny colored clothespins (also Hobby Lobby $3.00). I absolutely love how it turned out.

Postal Pix made this New Year's resolution E.Z. - P.Z. love it!

Good things take time...

Funfetti Ice Cream recipe - picture from Ginger Bread Bagels blog)

I'm totally a DIY'er, but there's something about summer that really lures me to making things myself. Like ice cream. I thought I'd whip up a batch as a gift for a friend who just finished grad school. Its probably not the best idea I've had as I've discovered that it takes at least 3 days to make! Not only will my ice cream not be done in time to give as a gift, but what if it isn't even edible?! These are the kind of problematic questions you have when you take on a DIY adventure. I find that they always take more time than I think, good things usually do.

Something else that takes time? Editing photos. Since I assume most people don't know what goes on behind the scenes after a photo shoot, I thought I'd share my process...

During a photoshoot I often show clients the images I'm capturing on the screen on the back of my camera. Did you know that the image you see on the camera is not the same image you recieve on a disk?

I sift through all the images and pick out the best and my favorites. Pulling out the ones with closed eyes, double chins and lazy eyes... I then take the good ones and edit each one by hand. Lots of photographers use photoshop and programs that enable them to edit photos in a batches. I think this is wonderful and its something I look forward to moving to in the future, but for now, I look at each image and edit it (with photoshop and Totally Rad Actions) in a way that I think captures the emotion and personality of the subject. I choose certain images to be black white and a select few for more artistic styles.

I want my images to be bright, crisp, and clean. I love faces and eyes and making skin look soft and buttery... :) Since this process takes a decent amount of time, I take a few minutes after a shoot and pick out 2-3 that I really like. I edit these few and post them on facebook for my clients to see, the same day. Its like a little teaser! Like an appetizer to hold you over until the meal... haha, ok maybe a bad analogy...

The photos you recieve have that little pop and wow factor that makes them extra special. Thanks for being patient and eager clients!

ps... I have an editor hired to help me with photos for 2012! ...exciting to see the business grow...!