Bubble Bath!

Somebody put too many bubbles in the tub tonight!!

Weekend fun!

This weekend the weather was terrible! But we still had a lot of fun:)

On Saturday morning, we went to a birthday party. It was a pajama and pancake party! It was really cute and such a great idea! All the kids were their p.j.s and breakfast food was served. I really think I will be copying this idea for Allie Ruth's next birthday! On a photog note, this picture is in black and white because I forgot to change my settings back when I was practicing my white balance! This is one of the few pictures were both kids are actually looking at the camera and somewhat smiling! So it was either look like a smurf or do some b/w adjustments.

After the birthday party, Kelly took Landon and our niece, Sydney, to see Rango. Landon said the movie was really good, but of course, turn off the lights and have Landon sitting still and he is gonna fall sleep! While Allie Ruth played at Gammie's house, I met one of my best friends from high school for Mexican food (and ritas)!

On Sunday morning, Kelly surprised us with donuts! Yum:) We met Mimmie for lunch at Huey's and then the girls went shopping! Allie Ruth was a good shopping girl! Landon and Kelly went to putt putt to hit golf balls. Kelly bought Landon the cutest set of golf clubs for kids. We had a great weekend despite the yucky weather! We are counting down the days until spring break!

Fauxtography Friday!

Lesson 3: The color of Light


White Balance is setting the color temperature of your image. 


Tutorial: Custom White Balance: Custom white balance is the best way to fix color casts in an image. It makes the camera adapt to the exact lighting situation that you are shooting. 

I used ARs shoes for my example. This picture is using the white balance in the auto mode. 

This example is done with the Tungsten setting, which is used for indoor lighting.

This example done using the custom white balance. I took a picture of a solid white sheet of paper and then set my white balance according to the picture of the white sheet of paper. At first glance, it does not seem like much of a difference in each picture, but there is slightly. I can see how setting the white balance will really help a lot of my pictures that tend to have an orange tint to them. I bet people wondered if my kids were jaundice!

This example was done under flourescent lighting.

And using custom white balance under flourescent lighting.

Whew, so many things to remember and think about just to take a picture!

Happy Friday and almost spring!

How to make a baby bib tutorial

Supplies needed:

bib pattern

fabric

terry cloth (optional)

clear iron on vinyl (optional)

sewing supplies

velcro, buttons

Before we get started, let me apologize for the quality of the pictures. I have been practicing using my camera in manual mode. Guess I should save it for my tutorials when I get a little lot better. But you will get the idea! 

First, you will need a pattern for your bib. These are very easy to make. Bibs are symmetrical, meaning they are the same on both sides. Fold a piece of paper in half and draw half of your bib and half of the hole for the neck. Keep the paper folded and cut along the drawn lines. When you open it up, you will have the perfect bib pattern. Now, if you don't know or think you can draw half of a bib, then you could trace one that you already own. Chances are, if you are reading this, you have a bib laying around the house.

Next, let me introduce you to my new favorite addiction supply. 

This is clear iron on vinyl that you can purchase from a fabric store. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for 25% off $7.99. Did you know that if you forget to print out the weekly coupon, you can just pull it up on your phone and show the cashier?! So what this does is laminates the fabric or puts a clear coating over it and makes it shiny, like oil cloth. Perfect for a bib. Just follow the directions on the package. Its very easy!

Once you have your fabric ready, place the bib pattern on top and pin in place.

Cut out the fabric around the pattern. Take out the pins. If you would like to add a coordinating piece of fabric to your bib, then now would be the time to do that. Just cut a strip of fabric (that you would have already had laminated) and sew it on to the bib.

Place the right side of the fabric to the right side of the terry cloth and pin in place. I like to use terry cloth for bibs because it can be used to easily wipe up messes after the meal is finished. 

Only trim off the majority of the extra terry cloth, not totally cutting out around the bib. This is because the laminated fabric tends to slip while sewing and the terry cloth will stretch so you can easily pull out any wrinkles. Also, leave an opening about 3.5 inches so you can pull the right sides of the bib through. I like to leave my opening at the bottom edge. Now its time to start sewing around the bib. Go slow, especially around the neckline. Trim off extra terry cloth and unpin your fabric. Now turn the bib right side out using the hole you left open. The laminated fabric will be a little wrinkled. All you have to do is use the protective paper that came with the vinyl and iron it out some. After you have the bib all ironed out and smooth, sew back around the edge of the bib, closing up your opening and giving it a more finished look. 

For the closure of the bib you can use snaps, velcro, etc. I sewed a piece of velcro and then added a button to hide my stitches. 

And you are done! These make great baby gifts!

I think they go great with this little outfit and can't wait to meet the wee one that is going to wear it!

6 months ago...

Six months ago, my babies looked like this:

Now, they look like this:

Allie Ruth looks more like a toddler and Landon has lost a tooth!

Allie Ruth has had two hair cuts and Landon, I am sorry that I tried to shave your hair and I will never do it again, Love Mom. 

The weather is getting warmer and spring is coming very soon. We spent Saturday morning at the park. We went to the "big park" which is another park that is close to our house. Its fun to walk or ride your bike there but you have to have a lot of time, so we just went in the car this time. 

We had fun swinging.

Then in true Allie Ruth fashion, she realized that she is in a different swing than Landon. And since she has to do everything he does...

She requested to switch swings. She seemed a little scared at first. But in true Landon fashion, "I will help you Allie Ruth!"

A little slide action:

Then Landon decided it was time for a nature walk.

Landon was our leader, while Allie Ruth was a little unsure! 

Sweet babies! Can't wait to see what you look like six months from now!!

Fauxtography Friday!

Lesson 2 part 2:  
 Finding the balance with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. 


What we have learned:
Aperture- you need a lot of light in order to use a high f/stop like f/22.
Shutter speed- you need a lot of light indoors to use a very high shutter speed.

To get a correct exposure your f/stop and SS need to balance to let in enough light to expose your image. This is were your built in meter on your camera comes into play. Your exposure meter looks like a scale and is located at the bottom of the viewfinder. 


When you focus on an image, if the line on the meter is on the minus section, your image is underexposed. If the line is on the plus section, your image is overexposed. If the line is centered, you have the correct exposure. * Now, I have read that you might need to meter a little to the plus or a little to the minus, depending on your camera and style of photography. 


When you use Manual mode, you need to use the meter to make sure you have the correct exposure. If you already have your ISO set, then you are really just make two choices, SS and Fstop. * What have I been so scared of??


You can do it!!  


Ok, so I turned my camera to the manual mode and practiced indoors and outdoors. These photos are not really good or interesting but I did take them in manual and did understand a lot more about how my camera works.

These are some flowers that a sweet student gave me for Valentines day:)

Tree right outside my classroom.

Another tree.

My flowers two weeks later still look pretty:)

Hopefully this weekend, I can photograph some more interesting subject matter!

Tutorial Tuesday!

Pocket Photo Frame

Supplies:

-Canvas or Hard board

-Clear Vinyl 

-Fabric

I got these canvas prints at Target for the popular Target price of $3.24. 

I did not like the picture but figured I could do something with them later.

You can get the clear vinyl from any fabric store.

I made this bib for Allie Ruth's first birthday and really wanted to try sewing with vinyl again.

First I cut my fabric, leaving enough fabric on the sides to wrap around the canvas. 

Then I made a paper template and outlined it with chalk. 

I wanted my pocket to hold a 4x6 picture, so I cut the vinyl pieces to measure

 4.5x 6.5. 

Then I laid them out on the fabric were I wanted them to go.

To get the vinyl to lay flat, you can put them in a book and they will straighten out quickly. 

Here is were things started to go south with this project. Sometimes the ideas in my head don't quite work out. And I have been in a sort of creative slump lately. 

Originally, I wanted to sew the vinyl straight to the fabric. Well, this did not work at all! The fabric was bunching up and the vinyl was sticking to the presser foot. Very frustrating! So I took a break from working on it. I thought about it for a while and decide to sewing bias tape around the vinyl and then hot glue them to the fabric canvas. Hey, when all else fails, bust out the hot glue gun!!

I put a piece of painters tape on the vinyl so it would not stick when going through the sewing machine. I  had some blue bias tape, so I sewed it to the sides of the vinyl leaving it off one side for the opening. 

This is what a finished pocket looks like. 

I used some spray glue to hold the fabric in place on the canvas and then folded the corners and hot glued them to the back. 

Then I hot glued my faux sewed pockets to the fabric covered canvas. 

Not really loving this, but Landon likes it and he can change out the pictures whenever he wants. Or put other things besides pictures in there. 

What I am loving:

Landon's drawing of our family!

He spelled his name with the letter magnets and we did not have another "N" so he wrote it in!

and

The sign for his door that he informed me that when its on there that means no one can come in... 

good try buddy, I own that room:)