Family Craft Night

I love traditions.  They make me feel like we are really a family and I try to do as many traditional things that I can.  For example, we have spaghetti and a movie almost every Friday night.  Weird, but we love it.  We listen to music every night at dinner and we change up the genre all the time.  If it is a holiday we listen to that type of music!  We have Halloween traditions like we always USED to eat Sloppy Joes, but some short person (and I am not talking about me!) decided they didn't like sloppy joes.  Oh well!  I try to shove as many traditions into Christmas as I can but I think it is the things you do on a daily basis that really make memories to cherish.


With all that said, I decided it was Family Craft Night!  I had seen this adorable tree on Pinterest from ALittletipsy.com.  I loved the more fallish colors in the reds, yellows, and greens.  She did this by using the arm painted brown and then just squirting the other colors on top of the brown and mixing it a little bit.  It truly made a difference than just a red handprint!

I decided to make one using the whole family's arms and hands!  I had the paints in our art tub and bought the canvas at Walmart!  They aren't the super best quality but they did the trick.  We got to work!  Hubs was put on the job of opening bottles of paint!

The supplies and a pony!

The wink

The finished product!!

I just love how it turned out!!!  Jemma kept saying how much fun this was and when could we do Family Craft Night again!  It now sits proudly on my sofa table in our living room and it just makes me happy every single time I look at it.  


We all had a great time and I think Family Craft Night will be a new tradition!  What traditions do you have? 

I am linking up to

 Carrie's Amaze Me Monday Party at Dittle Dattle 

and to 

Kim's Wow Us Wednesday Party at Savvy Southern Style

I am also joining at new linky party with 
Suzanne at Privet and Holly called Monday Moments.  
If you have never read her blog, go there right now and read.  She has a gift with words.  Her posts are always inspiring and moving.  She has such a heart about her that comes through in all she does.  Go.  Read.  You won't be disappointed!!


Can't forget the wonderful Beth at Stories from A2Z and her Tuts and Tips party!!

Thanks to these  ladies for always hosting such wonderful parties! 

Trick or Treat Y'all!

We had a Southern Belle this year for Halloween!  Well, actually two!  I got in on the act also!  It was a wonderful day.  The BHW took off as he leaves today for a 10 day trip to Germany so we just made it a family day!

 It started with Trick or Treating at Jemma's school and her party.  The mom's had wrapped the juice boxes with white tape to make mummies!  So cute.  Yes, Jemma is wearing a different costume.  She had been to two birthday parties in her costume and one night of early trick or treat in the neighborhood so I had some sewing to do!  She wore the second one she had picked out. 

The wink!

Then we ate lunch at the mall and roamed around.  We had pictures made in the photo booth and Daddy and Jemma had fun in the $2/two minute tornado tunnel!  Then it was home to carve our pumpkin named Sally.

Jemma does not enjoy the guts of the pumpkin, but we make her do it!  We are evil that way!  She felt as long as she used a spoon, it was o.k.  Just so you know.  I removed the giant knife from beside my daughter right after I took the picture!  Pictures first, then safety!!!  Ha!

Then a dinner of mummy dogs1  Thanks Nana for the recipe!

Then off to trick or treat!

I found the costume for Jemma at Walmart and she loved it.  She then found the green one at Hokus Pokus and liked it better so we bought it (for $40!).  By the way, at the Halloween store they can't be returned.  Well, Jemma wanted us to dress up too so when we looked online, there was one for an adult just like her $20 Walmart one.  I actually won it on ebay for $30!  So now we had two costumes which actually worked out pretty well.  I just wish I had thought for her to wear the green one to the parties!

Jemma and a completed Sally.

Trick or Treat!!!

 We started out a bit later, but then met up with buddies!

It was a wonderful night!  One of my best memories was Jemma saying several times that she had the best momma.  She said that not many mommies would dress up with their "childs" and she was lucky to have a mommy who did.  My sweet baby!  

I hope you all had a Spooktacular Halloween!!!

I WON!!!!!!!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me on Facebook!  I won the contest and will be taking part in a small group mentoring workshop hosted by Jennifer from JellyBean Pictures!  Her work is stunning and I know I am going to learn so much and gain so much confidence!

I truly appreciate all of you who voted!  A special thanks to Debbie at Debbiedoos and Mary at The Decorative Dreamer for sharing the link and spreading the love.  Mary shared a few times and drummed up so many votes!  Thank you!!!  Also to Carrie at Dittle Dattle for getting her whole family in the act and having them vote!  Blogging buddies are the best!  Kim from Savvy Southern Style, Anita from Far Above Rubies and Debbie were the first ones who headed on over and voted!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to every one of you who took the time out to help me!  I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am!!!  I feel like I have won an Oscar and am forgetting people, but I hope I haven't!  If I did... I am sorry!  I am just absolutely giddy!!!!!

Thank You So Much!!!!!!!!

Shameless Begging!

Hi everyone!  I am here to shamelessly beg for you votes on Facebook!  I have entered myself in a contest to win a small group photography mentoring program with the uber talented Jennifer from JellyBean Pictures.  I love her lifestyle photography and this is an opportunity to work with her for 3 weeks in a small group forum!  She will do a critique of my photos, teach lessons, look at assignments, discuss anything about photography and business in a forum, and have a Q and A session with her!  It is an $850 program that I can win for free!!!!!

I am winning right now, but THERE IS ONE PROBLEM!  You have to go to her 'then she snapped' page first and LIKE it.  Then like my picture.  I have had a lot of people like my picture but not like the page and that vote doesn't count.  I am so appreciative that everyone has taken the time to do it so I want it to count!!!  Here is all you have to do...

1.  Go to Facebook and type 'then she snapped' into the search bar.  Click on it.

2.  LIKE that page.  The LIKE button should be by the name of the page.

3.  Find my picture.  I am #8 and it looks like this...

4.  LIKE my picture!

5.  Next to the LIKE button on my picture is a SHARE button.  Feel free to share it on your page with any of your fb friends.  I told you... I am being shameless!!!

THE KEY IS TO "LIKE" BOTH THINGS!!!  THE PAGE AND THE PICTURE!!!!

Thank you so much everyone and I will keep you posted!!!!   

Our neighborhood is in an uproar since the board told us last week that trick or treating would be on Saturday night.  Oh my...  it has created a firestorm!  When do you do Halloween?

We will be going out on Monday since we are going to a wedding on Saturday.  Jemma and I are going to be Southern Belles.  I think it should definitely be blog worthy of me in a hoop skirt!!!  

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Please vote for me!

Hello all!  I have been a busy photographer for the last two weeks!  I had a newborn shoot that was just absolutely brilliant.  I LOVED every minute of it!  Here a few shots...

I shot a cute little pirate wench for her Halloween cards!

And then, I went to a Photography Workshop on Saturday with my photography group.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!

We shot all day in the park in Greenville, South Carolina wit the uber-talented Eddie Tapp and Judy Host.  These are master photographers who have each won numerous awards.  Eddie is a guru with lighting and Judy is renowned for her use of natural light. 

After talking to the organizer of our group, she encouraged me to really focus on Judy since I don't have a lot of the lighting equipment that Eddie uses.  I became Judy's stalker.  I knew that Eddie was coming back in the spring and so I followed Judy around like a puppy all day and just listened, watched, asked a thousand questions.  I also shot a LOT of pictures!  She was warm, kind and beyond helpful.  I felt such a freedom in shooting and really discovered a lot about myself as a photographer and what I can do to be better.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with this phenomenal artist!

Eddie is a Photoshop Hall of Fame inductee and a Canon Explorer of Light.  He is coming back.  Should I warn him that I could be a potential stalker?  

Here are a few pictures from the day...

I could have eaten him up!  He was so cute!

Can you believe this tree?  It was the perfect backdrop!
 This mommy to be was so beautiful with her pink hair and that gorgeous belly!  

This was one of those kiddos that make you work for the shot!

Such a sweetie!

I captured the elusive backlight/sunflare!  Woo hoo!!!

Now my friends,

I need your help!!!!

I have entered a contest to win a spot in a small group mentoring workshop from the super talented Jennifer at Jelly Bean Pictures. 

The workshop is valued at $850 so to win this would be a dream!  

All you have to do is...

1. Go to Facebook and "Like" the ' then she snapped ' page.

2.  Go to her pictures and find me!  

3. Click on the blue "Like" right under the picture!

You have until Saturday to vote and the winner will be announced on Sunday the 30th!

I would appreciate this more than you know! 


I am joining
Carrie at Dittle Dattle for her Amaze Me Monday Party



and
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for her Wow Us Wednesday Party

I'm spreading the word far and wide!

Oh yeah... I spray painted!!

I love to see all the wonderful crafts and ideas throughout blogland and always say, "Oh, I can do that..."  Then I don't.  But, I did pull out the can of spray paint to work on some pumpkins!  Oh yeah baby... the orange pumpkin had nothing on me!!!  Debbie from Debbiedoos Blogging and Blabbing... this post is for you!  She was the one who got me started in the world of blogging and has always inspired me!

I went to the dollar tree and saw these pumpkins and I just couldn't help myself!

I whipped out the trusty Almond spray paint and went to work.

Ignore the lovely picture of me and just focus on my brilliant plan of jabbing chopsticks in the bottom so I could just spin those bad boys around without bending over on the ground.  Oh yeah!!!  I did shove the first ones too hard and they shot through the top side!  Hey, pumpkins aren't perfect so I spray painted over it!  Voila!

Then the chopsticks worked great to shove in the ground and make little drying pedestals!  

By the way... BHW... we need mulch!

Then I took some Burnt Umber, wiped it on and rubbed it off.  Kim from Savvy Southern Style has always talked about wiping on and rubbing off and I see now how it works!  

Here are my little beauties!  I love them!

I put them in a container that I have had for years with some spanish moss and a cute little acorn that I got from somewhere years ago.

I put it on the bottom shelf of my entertainment unit that we had built, but it needed something so I scattered some Dollar Tree fall leaves.  I liked it better but it still wasn't quite right.

Here is a shot of our unit "fall-ified" as Sue from Sullivan and Murphy would say!  I moved the houses around and spread them out more.  I like it better now than with books and shells and houses.  It seems less cluttered.

I still thought I needed a little something something with my new pumpkins and then I added these orange pumpkins from Ross.  I like it so much better now!  I still think it needs a little something and I have my eye on some cute candle votives from Walmart.  I have a feeling they may be coming home with me on the next trip!

Debbie... I hope I have made your proud!  I know I am proud of myself for just doing it!  Have a great week everyone!

I am linking up with Kim's

Wow Us Wednesday Party at Savvy Southern Style!  

Come on by!  

Our Haunted House!

When the first day of October arrived, Jemma started asking when I was going to put up her witch!  She loves the silhouettes that I created, and I have to admit... I love them too!

I always get asked, "Did you do them yourself?" Yes I did!!!  I don't get my craft on as much as I would like but I did do these!  I found pictures online that I liked and sketched them out to make sure I could do them.  I bought black fadeless paper at the local teacher store and measured it out to my window size.  Then I just sketched each figure on the paper, cut it out and hung it up!  Pretty easy!

I haven't added all my mums yet or my lights, but it will be done!  I think I am going to add a pumpkin to the upstairs window.  It is my closet and the light is motion sensitive so it goes off all the time.  This is a picture from the first year they were up.  Jemma is on me!  She wants a spooky house!  I have to get on it!!  

When I see this picture, I can't get over how big all my shrubs and plants have grown in two years!

A ghost haunts the dining room.  I think he needs a friend!

Jemma wanted a witch in her room!  I love this one!  I love how she looks greenish because Jem's room is green and it reflects!

A cat and bats have invaded the master bathroom!  

Dracula is hanging out in the office!  

I love the witch and dracula... and the cats!!!  Which is your favorite?  Any suggestions for the upstairs window?  I am feeling crafty!!!

I am linking up with the Thrifty Decor Chick for her Fall Party!

and Carrie at Dittle Dattle's Amaze Me Monday!

I am also joining the adorable Beth at Home Stories A 2 Z 

and her Tutorials and Tips Party, 


and the lovely Kim's Wow Us Wednesday Party at Savvy Southern Style!