family self-portraits

We have gotten pretty used to taking our own family portraits. We like to do it here at our house, because it's where we like to be :) and because we are lucky enough to have some pretty spots right here in our own yard and because we can't seem to get it together enough to schedule a shoot around the weather, goose-eggs and holidays, ha! This year was made easier by the fact that my new camera works with the remote shutter my husband got me for Christmas a couple years ago, but that did not work with my old camera!

I am super happy with how they turned out and I ordered a bunch to include with family Christmas gifts yesterday!

 This next one is the one we ordered for gifts and cards, I love it!!

Another favorite:

Here are my self-portrait tips:

• Scope out poses that you like online or on Pinterest. Here is my "photo inspiration" board if you want to check it out. 
• If you're using a self-timer, know that you're going to need to get up and set it several times per pose--therefore, tell the kids to stay put! They usually want to see it right away and it only takes longer if everyone gets up and runs to the camera. 
• Use the kids--my 5-year-old took the above photo of Casey and I. I got the settings right and she snapped away. I took the time recently to teach her how to focus on the right things and now she does awesome. (Just always be sure the child is wearing the camera's neck strap. Just in case ;)
• Sitting poses are almost always better (I think this goes for all family portraits) because heads can be closer together and they're just more interesting. They also allow for better use of backdrops. A fence can be a cool backdrop, for example, but not if there's an ugly shed behind it, right where your heads are. Squat down, though, and all you see is fence. 
• Teach your kids to smile. Ha! That sounds funny, but my kids had a tendency to smile weird for pictures, so we practiced before we took them this time. I also sometimes tell them to just laugh and that brings out a more natural smile too. 

we've gone vinyl

With some of my birthday money, I bought a record player. It's also a cassette, CD, MP3 player and radio, but what I really wanted was the record player! I've been wanting one for years because I have a few records from my childhood that I would love for the kids to love too.  I recently bought one from a friend's garage sale, but it didn't work. So, when I saw this one in the Target ad at an awesome sale price, I got super excited. Casey scoffed. He did not see the appeal. UNTIL.... today we were at Unique Thrift because we had some time to kill was Natalie was in ballet and he happened upon the 99 cent vinyl record shelf. Annnnnd went nuts. We got a bunch of records, Christmas, classical (Casey is crazy about classical music) and kids. Even some Scott Joplin and some Raffi Christmas! Awesome old-school stuff that yes, we could probably get on iTunes, but that are so much cooler on a record player!

I'm so happy, we've been listening to them all afternoon. So far, "The SwingleBells" are my favorite (okay, I just looked that up on Amazon to link it and it's $125)! What a find. And Casey conceded and told me "good call on the record player".

Summer to Fall to Winter

I love turning my sewn Summer garments into outfits that work for Fall and Winter. The key is just to add layers. I may actually love certain pieces more when I discover I can switch them around and get more mileage out of them! Here are a few ways I've done this recently.

I made this Vogue dress last Spring. I liked it a lot when standing, but that interesting skirt yolk was not flattering at all when I sat down. Having had three babies, I do not need clothes that emphasize my lower belly, if ya know what I mean. (For the record, I do not do Spanx. In my opinion, if it's too tight to wear without suck-in-all-in undies, it's just too tight). Thus, I never wore it. UNTIL... I pulled it out and thought about what I could do to make it wearable because I really love the rayon knit and the print. I simply cut that lower yolk off and sewed the skirt back on. And loved it :) By that time, though, it was already Fall and too chilly to wear it as is. So last week, I grabbed a blue wrap cardigan I recently finished (never blogged, but it's the same pattern as this pink one I made) and layered the two.

 The following week, I grabbed a simple blue rayon sundress (also never blogged, whoops) that I made at the end of Summer. I layered it with a white sweater and tights and boots cause it was really snowy and cold on Sunday. Then, after church, I ditched the tights and put skinny jeans under it instead. I was really comfy all day.

I'm inspired to find more ways to stretch my wardrobe! I find that cardigans are invaluable for this concept, which is why I've made a few this season and just bought two yesterday at Target, because they're on sale for $15 this week, FYI! I got a gray one and a cute polka-dot green one. How do you adapt your handmade things?

making friends...

...with my new camera!! That's right, I recently bought a used Nikon D90 (on Amazon), several steps up from the D50 I've been using for several years. It's very exciting, especially since I've been taking a LOT of photos lately and the D50 had some limitations that I'd been subconsciously frustrated with for quite awhile. We are doing our new church directory in-house and I am taking all the pictures and also because I've been taking family pics for friends who want Christmas pictures, etc... I am learning SO much. Seriously, after each photo shoot I feel like I learned something new about the camera, about light, or about posing. And about people. Seeing people interact with the families and spouses truly shows me a delightful new side of people that I've gone to church with for years.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few of my favorites plus a few that I've taken that just really show off what awesome things this camera can do!!!

 Good ol' Colorado in the Fall ;) I was playing with the sun and water droplets. Cool!

 Yesterday I had a chance to play around with the camera's "picture control" settings. SUCH a cool feature. I can really customize how I want the camera to process the photos. I feel like getting this setting right will reduce post-editing quite a bit. This one was practically perfect right out of the camera after settling on the right picture controls, I did very little editing.

One of the coolest features of the Nikon D90 specifically is that it handles low-light situations way better than most. This one of Kelby and his new nightlight is good proof of that, look how little digital noise there is! My ISO was cranked and the shutter speed was sloooow. I CAN'T WAIT to take Christmas tree photos this year!!! :)

 Another great low-light shot. I turned 31 last weekend and Casey whisked me away to a hotel downtown, where we asked for the highest floor with a mountain view. Gorgeous. Sigh, I'm gonna miss Denver sooooo much.

If you're considering a DSLR, here are my suggestions.

• First don't be afraid to buy used. I saved about a thousand dollars (for realz!) buying a used camera. 
• Second, buy on Amazon, not on Craigslist. Amazon has a safe buying guarantee. If you never receive it, if it doesn't work, or if it breaks, Amazon handles that. Plus, most Amazon vendors offer warranties. If you buy it on Craigslist, get it home and find out something's wrong, you just flushed a chunk of money down the toilet and the seller really doesn't have to work with you. 
• Third, invest in a nice lens. My nice 50mm fixed lens made my old camera take much better photos than it would have with the manufacturer's lens. Lenses can make a huge difference, so if money is limited, go for a slighter lower priced body and invest in a nice lens. 
• Lastly, if you get a DSLR, learn to use the manual settings!!!! If that's not your thing, don't spend the money because the most expensive camera out there, set on auto, just won't get your money's worth for you. 

There are my tips! But I'm no pro. If anyone wants to add to that in the comments, feel free :)

One skirt, many ways

You may remember another post with this same title in recent months. I'm getting so much wear out of that yellow cord skirt, that I wanted to make another equally versatile skirt. I've had Cynthia Rowley's skirt pattern, Simplicity 2512, for at least a year, but was hesitant to try it because I didn't know how this silhouette would look on me. Due to some recent wadders, I went ahead and whipped up a quick muslin (gasp! I never make muslins) and was pleasantly surprised! I went ahead and cut it out in this purplish fabric someone gave me a few years ago. I love the texture in this fabric, it's a perfect weight for a skirt and I think it turned out great!

Here it is, worn four ways.

I didn't bother with shoes and my photos could have been better, but it's all I could do to document four changes of clothes, so it'll have to do!

I love that this skirt can be casual or classy. And the cute waistband shape and binding make it unique. Very happy with how it turned out!!

better late than never

A day after Halloween and actually four days after our church Harvest Party, I'm finally getting around to posting costume photos!! Like I've said probably more than a few times in the past, I really love making costumes. The kids really get into the choosing and pattern browsing and the process and the finished products always make them SO happy. What mother wouldn't love that?

I'm way too lazy right now to go up two floors and get the patterns, or sit right here and search for them online, so I'm not gonna post the pattern numbers here. If you reeeeaaaaalllly want to know, ask me in the comments and I'll post them :)

Natalie wanted to be Belle. This pattern is several years old and is TERRIBLE!! McCall's has an updated one now. Get that one, don't use the old one, take my word for it. I made it work she loves it. the rose was my own addition, but her idea.

 Layla, my Egyptian Princess :)

 And T-Rex Kelby. This might be one of my favorite things I've ever made, fleece is so much fun to sew on and it's ridiculously cute.

 Rawr!

 I didn't have time to make my Jane Austen costume, but I managed a Super Mom one!! Natalie made my tiara, btw, on the sewing machine. She just started learning and she's doing awesome.

salvaging things

I revisited a few tops I thought were wadders and fixed them to where I actually like them, yay! One was a knit nightgown that I chopped off way too short (I think I used the wrong end of my ruler) so now it's a great p.j. top, at least. And another was a knit dress, turned shirt (I didn't like the bottom) that I still didn't like the neckline of because I don't look good in crew necks. So, I cut a new neckline and new binding and now I like it, yeah!

I also made New Look 6110 out of some chiffon I bought recently on clearance at JoAnn. I'm wearing it today and really liking it.

I think the envelope makes the hem look straight, but it actually has more of a shirttail shape, which I prefer in long tops like this. I don't think chiffon tops anyone's list of favorite fabrics to work with, but for a drapey style like this, I love the effect because it still shows your shape. If I made it in a more opaque fabric, I'd probably belt it.

Anyway, it was good to make something that worked out! It's been awhile! 

yarn

Something about Fall makes me want to play with yarn. So, I crochet something. This time is was slouchy hats for the girls! Then, I decided to make matching arm warmers too! I'm still working on Layla's, but Natalie's are done and she's so thrilled, she's planned her outfits around them several days in the last week ;)

The hat is the Slight Slouch hat and while it turned out okay, I wouldn't recommend this pattern. The instructions were rather convoluted  and I actually found one mistake! And it turned out on the small side (I had to stretch it a lot) even though I used a size bigger hook than recommended. For a free pattern, none of this would bug me, but it was $5 for the download.

The arm bands are a free pattern (yay!) and these instructions were great! I adjusted the stripes out, which only made it easier. She has room to grow in them too.

Once again, I've convinced myself I can be a knitter. I'm not horrible at it, I actually have some things I've knitted and actually use/wear now, so maybe I can keep trying and actually be faster at it! I really love Knit Simple magazine. They always have projects of all sizes and all skill levels. I bought the latest one and hope to make a few things from it soon.

I have a lot going on this week, not the least of which is my birthday on Saturday!! Casey has surprise plans and told me to have nothing planned for Friday or Saturday, including lesson planning etc.. So I need to load up the first half of my week with planning lessons and editing photos! "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."