photography and business venture

that title is jam packed with info.  i feel like i've been neglecting the ol' blog...ok i HAVE BEEN. lol  can i blame it on the weather? thanks. =]

i'm dabbling in photography on a more professional level now.  no, i don't have all the proper schooling but i do have the natural desire to photograph people in settings that are unconventional.  no standard portrait sittings here.  i've done a few shoots and am loving the feeling of capturing moments.  up on the left side is the link to my photography website. 

now i did mention 'business venture' in my post title but it has little to do with photography.  lol  i also have a passion for refurbishing things and giving them new life...maybe even new purpose.  more directly with furniture and other home decor pieces.  half way down on the left of this blog you will find some home decor links to some of my fave blog spots to visit for inspiration.  hubby and i have been in talks with a local building owner about opening up a shop for us to sell our refurbished 'finds'.  most of our inventory is coming from auctions, flea markets, garage sales and even curb finds.  i have no shame in rescuing a damaged piece of wood furniture along side the street.  i feel i am doing my part in keeping the earth green.  why not keep it out of the landfill, make a little income for my family and just do something i totally enjoy???  this blog entry will give you an idea of what i'm talking about.  hope to share more photos soon of finished goods but for now...here is a peek at what my garage looks like. lol

don't mind my Chopper, he thought i was taking him for a walk.  his leash is right behind me and every time we move past it he thinks it's coming down. lol

i need to get a move on and break out the sander, paint and have hubby repair some minor things.  just wish the rain would stay away for more than a half of a day.  blah.

so...what have you been up to? lol 
  
  
  

 

check this out...

if you have a second i would totally recommend visiting this inspiring blog!  she has a giveaway going on right now and it's wonderful!  hope to see you there. :)

just a peek...

yeah i know, spring is here...easter is this weekend but my mantel isn't quite ready yet.  i do have a peek just so you believe me that i am working on something. lol 

have a sunny day!

spring mantle scape...ATTEMPT! lol

i've been blog hopping A LOT lately looking at all my fave home decor blogs and was totally inspired by this gal to try to put some 'spring' into my family room.  before last Christmas i talked my hubby into hanging a mantle style shelf up on the wall in our family room...see my post here.

so, i got the urge to run out to my local thrift stores and dollar store today and this is what i scored for just under $15.00!

where do i begin...

i bought most of this at salvation army except the 3 frames, large ceramic egg and bird.  egg and bird are from the dollar tree and the frames came from goodwill. 

these ceramic eggs where in a bag for $3.  i don't necessarily like them all but i can use some and paint them too.  not sure how i will tuck them into my scape.

what a fun (heavy) candlestick.  for .75 cents i can definately add this in somewhere.  i'm trying my birdie out on a few things. lol

don't mind that irridecent shred, it was in one of the eggs i bought. lol  i have some great earthy moss i plan to use.  LOVE this sterling silver candlestick that has that cool 'hook' on the side to dangle something from.  gotta think of something cute.  maybe a word sign saying "spring"...i dunno yet.

new frames, hallmark...nice and chunky with those cute name plates on front.  i have three kiddos so these are perfect...for just a total of $3.

i'm not a 'bunny' person as in decorating for easter but this bunny....he is JUST. TOO. CUTE!!!  don't you agree???  he was a whole .75 cents and is in like new condition.

ok, i gotta get off here and do something creative with this stuff.  oh, i WILL be back to show you what i done with it all.

have a creative day...

 
 
 
 
 

weekend crop @ The Mosy Scrapper!

if you haven't visited The Mosy Scrapper than you should get over there and get registered for their crop this coming weekend (March 20 & 21st)!  check out their blog to see all the fabulous prize donations that keep pouring in.  i've even donated items from my etsy shop as well.

shared a simple technique...

over at Scrapperie....come on over. :)

playing with my camera and lighting

i still need to move my lighting around more and learn how to use the strobe but i had fun taking pics of my little guy.  i didn't realize how much of a ham he is in front of a camera.  he was soooo helpful and he was doing poses that made me laugh so hard. :)

 
 

technique tuesday @ Scrapperie

it was my week again to share a technique tutorial over at Scrapperie.  come on over and join in and be iNsPiReD!!!

i'm getting my mojo back...hope to be back with more scrappy stuff soon. =]
 
 

i can see clearly....now.

nothing major, just some squinting long distance while driving.  it's a big change that is for sure.  it's been a week and i am slowly getting use to them.  :)

more interesting stuff....i am back at my fave hobby....estate auctions!  look at this fun stash of junque i picked up.

this little old man kept E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!  this box holds hundreds of flower labels and tags.  he was an avid flower grower (i'm sure he was more than that but i'm not sure what you would call him). lol  all i know is i went through this mess and washed many, many fun tags and labels that have plant related info but can easily be used on layouts or other scrappy projects.  be watching my etsy shop for updated items as i have a TON to list. :)

oh yeah.  i got a little something for my anniversary from the hubs.  ok it is a BIG something....

meet 'Rebby'. lol  yes i named her. ha.  i explained to the kiddos that SHE is apart of the family and they needed to respect her.  then i gave them the stink eye and a run down of the R.U.L.E.S. lol

*all pics in this post are taken with Rebby. :)  i am slowly picking up tips for different settings so i can change my shutter speeds and stuff.  fun process indeed.

Techniques @ Scrapperie

i do a technique every other week over at Scrapperie so come by and try one out!  this one is on the topic of making your journaling set in behind your photo or paper.

oh yeah...that is my newest niece, Eleecya.  i haven't gotten to hold her yet but i snagged these photos from my sister's fb page. lol  this is also the first i've scrapped in a long while so i'm thrilled to have gotten it done and now i'm slowly finding my mojo and have started some other projects.  what have you done lately?

my little guy turned 5.

sniff, sniff. :(

Brody is five and i feel like i will never have a baby in my arms again. sigh.  i should be glad to finally have time for me but i'm not....atleast not at this moment.  he is sooooo eager to start kindergarten this fall it's not even funny.

this is the first year i have decided to keep the kiddo's parties "low key".  i've never had a party for any of my children without balloons....until now.  i'm sure i will go all out again but my mindset for this year is to not go overboard but enjoy the moments.  Brody requested a Transformer cake so that is what he got.  i made it using a kit i bought from the bakery dept.

he was insistant on cutting the cake.  more proof of his independance that i am not ready to see. sigh.

every birthday i run a series of photos of my kiddos on the tv...through the wii.  everyone loves looking at random photos of the birthday kiddo. =]

he recieved great gifts such as zhu zhu pets, clothing, money, lego sets, tattoos, view master slides and more.  happy birthday sweet boy...don't rush to grow.
  
 

say hello to my newest niece, Eleecya!

this is the third for my younger sister and the first that i was NOT there for when they were born...bittersweet.  i'm hoping to get to visit them in the next couple months.  they live about 6 hours from me and it's just not in the cards right now to take a trip away from home. :(

 

chair facelift

i don't know what it is but the new year has brought out the desires to 'freshin' things up around my home.  i've moved a few things and have even given some things new purposes.  a task i took on TWO days before Christmas is my fave so far....

i have this dinning set that my grandmother had given me about 15 yrs ago and it's hard to say how long she had it before that.  it's a sentimental thing as i love my grandmother to pieces and it reminds me of her often.  BUT...it's looking a little rough with having three kiddos use and abuse them, the chairs needed something.  so, i took the seats off...recovered them with some discount fabric.  off to the garage to sand the chairs down (i usually do a project while hubby is gone so i can dig through his tools and experiment without him standing over me questioning my logic. lol  i managed to sand them down, paint them a couple coats of coalmine black paint and rough up some of the edges for the distressed look.  after they were air blown off (love that hubby has oodles of tools, lol) i sprayed them with a clear coat, kind of a kid protection, if you will. lol  screwed the newly covered seat cushions back on and they were good to go.  now, i always keep a table cloth on my table so i plan to just refinish the table legs soon.  

before:

(notice the marker at the front of the chair wood trim part....nice. not.)

there were soooo many dints and dings in them that they desperately needed SOMETHING.

after:

sorry not the best of photos but i gave up after several tries one evening.  i know, i know...should take them during the daylight. lol

thanks for looking...hope this inspires someone to give something a facelift. :)

2010 Scrapperie Design Team

wanted to give a shout out to all the talented girls who will inspire everyone over at Scrapperie this year.  i'm luck to get to work with them all.  if you haven't been to Scrapperie ever (or in awhile) you should definitely start coming around as there are fabulous new challenges starting up and they are daily so you will never run out of inspiration!

Yay! the NEW year is here!!!

can you tell i'm excited about 2010?  i just want to put 2009 behind me as it was a trying time (financial wise) and although i am greatful to have made it through and learned a lot i am looking forward to the plans that were put on hold over this past year....like more house reno and business ventures. =]

i want to jump back a few weeks and express how much i enjoyed my holidays.  aside from being tired of eating holiday foods, i am thankful for the time spent with family and friends.  it seems that Christmas morning changes every year as the kiddos get older and their excitement isn't as obvious (well, Brody still squealed, lol).  i think they enjoyed their gifts but they looked more like zombies than wide-eyed young-ins. lol

THEN...

the new year's day brought my daughter's 14th birthday.  i just can not believe every year when my kiddos get older.  i can't help but be flooded with memories of when they were smaller.  this year's party was VERY low-key.  if anyone knows me there has not been a birthday party for my children that DID NOT include balloons and other party decor but this year, my sweet Syd was just surrounded by a few distant relatives and a fun cake.  i have promised her a day at the mall with a friend.  she has saved her money from the holidays and her birthday so she has PLENTY to spend. =]

well, i'm sure i will be sharing much more creative decor ideas, home renovations and the crazy things my family does throughout this 2010 year.  stay tuned. lol

repurposing

i have yet to really share many of the things i have repurosed (with MAJOR help from the hubby of course) on this blog.  i had wanted to start a seperate blog for just that purpose but i just want to share this now and hope for the new blog to start in the new year.  this old child's size dresser was sitting in my mother inlaws garage for awhile and they were intending to just dispose of it.  being that hubby is a master-woodcraftsman, i quickly had ideas for it.  we've done a few before too but this one i had a plan for, the others we sold after refurbishing them.

 

hubby took it completely apart and sanded it all down.  then he added a covering (to make it a shelf) for the bottom of where that last drawer was to go.  he could have doctored up the broken drawer but i love the look of some open space. 

 

(don't mind the books...i was moving some things around and stuck them there to get them off the floor, lol)

after a few coats of black satin paint (hand brushed on) i was ready to use this piece in my front room.  it will display my 'Cocoa Station' that i will be sharing soon with you all.  right now it holds mags and books and would even work well backed up to my sofa that sits out in the center of the room.  for now i need it near a plug for my hot water source for the hot cocoa. =]

have you repurposed anything?

more festive decor

just thought i would share a few more peeks at some things i've put up around the house.

here is the wreath that adorns the front entry of our home.  the blue coordinates with the blue lights that outlines our house roofline and the blue ribbons that go down our step railing {future updating project, lol} and the red berries coordinate what red is 'going on' in the front living room (see previous post).

i found some fun goodies while "thrifting" at my local goodwill/salvation army stores.  this red hurricane style lamp is about 10" tall and has a battery powered light that reflects the snowflake designs around the outter cover and it casts them on the wall and table (sure wish i knew how to take a photo of that detail, sigh).  i snagged this for $1.00! 

i can not tell you how giddy i was to run across this box of ribbon candy at my cvs.  it brought back a flood of memories of my grandmother and how she use to always have three tiered candy dishes on her tables with oodles of ribbon candy and other hard candies that i just loved to sample.

each color/design has a different flavor and the best part, they are FAT FREE! =]

happy holidays

it's almost here...the BESTEST time of the year!  i'm going to give you a run down of what fun stuff i did here at our home this year.  i didn't take pics of ever. single. thing. but this is the jist of it.

this first tree is in our formal living room.  i started, two years ago, to collect ornaments of black, glass and silver colors.  everything you see on this tree is a product of an after Christmas clearance or Hobby Lobby 50% off sales before Christmas.  this year i decided it needed a splash of another color...i chose red.  i. love. it. =]

see the lamp across the room there?  that has a sign hanging from it that says "Merry Christmas" that is in black sparkly velvet covering.  i snagged two of those at HL after Christmas a couple years ago for $.99 cents!!!!  they were 90% off. sweet.

{don't mind our lack of crown molding...it's on our 'to do' list, lol}

see the silver bows with black velvet designs on them?  i have them on each lamp around this room.  love the little 'extra' that it adds.

don't mind my terrible pics of my tree lit. =[  i'm not good at having a steady hand and choosing the right flash setting.  i THINK you can get the idea though.  this was about a week ago as i have oodles more presents under it.

ok, if you've read my past blog post you will see the mantle shelf i was talking about pulling out of my attic.  this is it.  with a quick dollar store/thrift store holiday makeover it's working for me this year. =]

that empty frame is for our family photo that will go in it VERY soon.  i still will probably add a few more photos here and there. {i only put black and white photos in black frames in this room, if you haven't read my past posts}

these stocking holders have been a major topic with me this year.  well, not these particularly, but the whole holder thing itself.  i haven't ever had any before as i've never had a mantle to hang my stockings from.  since i came up with this fabulous idea of putting this mantle shelf up i was destined to get holders for our pretty stockings.

well, as frugal as i am, i didn't want to spend much of ANYTHING on FIVE stocking holders. lol  i searched the net for a couple days on ideas to make my own with NO luck.  i searched the bigger box stores and even thrift stores and the cheapest i could find was $4 each ones that weren't pretty AT ALL! blah.  i was even ready to pull the spray paint out if needed...still NO LUCK.

THEN...out of the blue i was AGAIN back at my local dollar store and there they were.  albeit, gold, but they were ONE DOLLAR each...i was resisting the urge to jump up and down.  seriously.  i have every intention of turning them to silver but i couldn't wait to get them up and take some photos to share.  although the gold tends to fade into my yellow wall color. lol  they aren't heavy enough to hold FULL stockings but that is ok as Santa always leaves heaping full stockings laying on gifts left for the kiddos. ; }

now, this tree, is in our back family room that we use daily.  it's more of a 'whimsy' style that is still 'work in progress'.  again, all these ornaments were dollar, thrift or clearance bought.  i'm ok with that. =]

{don't mind the leaning star...we've grown to love it like that, lol}

we actually use this tree to display our gifts for distant family and friends.  we keep OUR presents under the front room tree and that is where we open gifts.  this tree here is where we hold gift exchanges with a few distant family members.  it's fun to keep them separate.

this lime green birdie is my fave.  he sits nestled near the top of this whimsy tree.

thanks for browsing our holiday decor.  please share a link to yours, i would love to take a peek!

happiest of holidays to you and yours.